Turning Tables
by my crooked heart
Summary: Rose Weasley asks her cousin Albus to help her win the affections of one Scorpius Malfoy, but she didn't count on Scorpius already being in love with someone else. RW/SM, ASP/SM, ASP/OC, LLP/LS. Please R&R! T for later chapters. Nextgen.
1. Rose's Crush

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**IMPORTANT: **This is gonna be a multi-chaptered fic focusing mainly on Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley. Others who will be seen in the story include James Sirius Potter, Lily Luna Potter, Hugo Weasley, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, etc. There will also be various OCs who are based off of/related to characters from Harry's time (e.g. Alexander Zabini is Blaise Zabini's son, Genevieve Thomas is Dean Thomas's daughter). Pairings will include Rose/Scorpius, Albus/Scorpius (yes, this story contains slash), Albus/OC, Lily/Lysander. **Please give this story a chance and review if possible**. This is my first multi-chaptered Harry Potter fic and I would _love_ the feedback. Thanks, and now onto chapter one!

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Rose's Crush<strong>

Sometimes, it was really hard to be Albus Severus Potter.

Most people thought that he had a pretty cushy life – his parents were famous, after all. Famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the one person who had had enough power to kill Lord Voldemort once and for all. Ginny Weasley, well-known for her Quidditch skills. Even his extended family were all well-known, well-respected witches and wizards. When he was younger Albus had loved the attention. He'd loved the stares that his family received whenever they went out together. He'd loved it when people approached his parents, wide-eyed and stuttering, asking for an autograph or a picture.

He had loved being one of the "Famous Potters", but now that he was fifteen, his resolve was wearing thin. It turned out that being one of the Famous Potters required a lot more work than he'd once thought. He was constantly expected to do well in everything he did, because that was how it had been for the rest of his family. It hadn't bothered him so much when he was younger, but now that his O.W.L. year had begun, Albus was beginning to feel the pressure.

And it wasn't just schoolwork that he had to contend with. There was also Quidditch practice to attend, Charms Club to worry about and _girls_. There was always a line of girls queuing up for Albus's attentions, and while it may have been an ideal situation in the eyes of some of his classmates, he just wasn't interested.

So when his favourite cousin, Rose Weasley, approached him in the library with pleading blue eyes and asked for his help, Albus wasn't best pleased. After all, he'd had a very stressful day – Professor Longbottom may have been a family friend, but that didn't mean he'd excused Albus for arriving late. Albus had spent the entire Herbology class trying to calm down a particularly riotous Venomous Tantacula, and after that he'd had to attend Quidditch practice and pretend that he wasn't in pain. Now he was in the middle of a difficult Transfiguration essay.

"Honestly, Rosie," Albus sighed, laying down his quill and running a hand through his messy black hair. "If this is about schoolwork, I don't know why you're asking _me _for help. Everyone knows that you're the smartest in our year."

Rose blinked. "It's not about schoolwork," she said, lowering her eyes. Her cheeks flushed dark pink. Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Alright," he said suspiciously. "What _is_ it about, then?"

She fidgeted with the sleeve of her robes before replying. "You and me have always been close, right?"

He considered that for a moment. He supposed she was right. Back when they'd gotten their Hogwarts acceptance letters, they had expressed secret doubts to each other over whether or not they were good enough to attend to the school. When they were getting ready to board the Hogwarts Express, Rose had blurted out that she was worried about the Sorting, and Albus had finally admitted that he was worried too – their family had a history of getting Sorted into Gryffindor, and there was a certain pressure on the two newest attendees to be Gryffindors, too. As it had turned out, Rose had been a Ravenclaw and Albus had been a Slytherin, but it hadn't mattered in the end. Their parents had just been happy to hear that _they_ were happy.

So yes, Albus supposed they were close. He nodded and Rose hurried to continue.

"I want to tell you something that I haven't told anyone else," she said, looking nervous. "I think I like someone."

Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. So _that_ was what it was all about? Rose had a crush on someone?

"That's sweet, Rosie," he said, "but I don't see how this has anything to do with me."

"He's in Slytherin house," she replied quickly.

That piqued Albus's interest. He raised an eyebrow, mentally running through his fellow Slytherins. He couldn't picture any of them being Rose's type – he had always expected her to go for someone bookish and intelligent, much like herself. Though Slytherin was considered the "rebel" house – maybe Rose was into bad boys.

"It's not Alexander Zabini, is it?" he asked, frowning as he thought of the biggest bully in Slytherin house. "Because you know he was the one who hexed Lysander Scamander at the end of Potions last week–"

"It's Scorpius Malfoy," Rose cut in, her cheeks colouring once more.

This time, both of Albus's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Rose liked _Scorpius_? Well, that was certainly a surprise. Scorpius and Albus had been best friends since first year, when they had both been Sorted into Slytherin. For Albus, his placement had been a surprise, but Scorpius had known all along that he would be a Slytherin. He had helped Albus to adjust to what he called the "social stigma" of Slytherin house, though over the next few years, the two of them had managed to cast that stigma off and become quite popular even among the other houses. Albus and Scorpius were as close as Albus's father had been with Rose's dad, his uncle Ron.

He supposed he could see what Rose saw in Scorpius. He was talented, particularly when it came to Transfiguration. He was intelligent, like her, and not afraid to speak his mind. And he was _very _handsome, with pale blond hair, slate grey eyes and skin so pale that it resembled porcelain. Yeah, Albus could see what Rose saw in Scorpius – but it suddenly occurred to him that when Rose had interrupted his essay, she hadn't said she wanted to tell him something. She had asked for his _help_.

"Uh, wow," he said with a cough. "And you want me to help you... _not_ like him?"

Rose's eyes widened. "No," she said with a squeak, her blush returning with even more force. "I was actually hoping that you could maybe talk to him about me? I want to get his attention. Maybe in time for the Halloween Ball?"

At the mention of the Halloween Ball, Albus cringed. The Ball was a recent tradition that had begun in his first year at Hogwarts. It had been Professor Sinistra's idea – she was retiring that year and requested that they hold a Halloween Ball instead of a retirement party. The teachers had liked the idea so much that they had decided to make it a tradition, despite the complaints of the students. With Halloween approaching fast, Albus was going to have to deal with girls asking him to be their date. And if he wanted to help Rose, he was going to have to convince Scorpius to ask her to be _his_ date.

"I don't know, Rose," Albus replied hesitantly. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he wasn't feeling too optimistic about her chances with Scorpius. After all, he'd never seen the other boy so much as _glance_ at any of the girls at Hogwarts. He'd always assumed that Scorpius was like Albus – uninterested in girls.

"Please, Al," Rose begged. "I'll finish your Transfiguration essay for you!"

And really, how could he say no to that?

"I'll try," he said. "But don't get too hopeful, Rosie. Scorpius doesn't seem like the dating type, as far as I can tell."

The effect was instantaneous – a wide grin spread across Rose's face and she leaped out of her chair, throwing her arms around Albus's neck and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"You're the best, Al!" she crowed, snatching his quill and scanning his essay. "Hey, if you want, I could set you up with one of my friends for the Halloween Ball. Genevieve Thomas has been _begging_ me to get you to go on a date with her for months, you know."

"Thanks, Rosie, but that's alright," Albus replied, laughing. "Tell Genevieve that I'm flattered, but I won't be attending the Ball this year."

"It's mandatory," Rose said absent-mindedly, crossing out one of his paragraphs. "Don't you remember?"

"Well I do _now_," he groaned, slumping onto the table.

"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Genevieve?"

"_No_, Rosie."

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><p>So that was chapter one, hope you enjoyed it ^_^ Please review, it <strong><span>honestly<span>** makes me write faster.


	2. Target Sighted

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _First of all I want to send a **massive** thank you to anyone who has read this story so far, and an even bigger thank you to anyone who favourited/put it on story alert/reviewed. Actually the BIGGEST thank you goes to those who review, because hearing what people think of my writing really makes my day ^_^_

_ So I spent all day figuring out my headcanon for this story and I think I finally have that sorted, so if a name appears that you don't recognize, it may be an OC. However, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander are actual HP characters, they're Luna Lovegood's kids (though I'm sure all you Potterheads know that)! _

_Also, as far as class schedules are concerned... I'm going to do my best with that, but they may be a little confusing. It's just because the way schedules are organized at Hogwarts is never explicitly stated, so... yeah. Anyway, this is a LONG author's note, so onto the story!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Target Sighted<strong>

By the time Albus left the library that evening, he was beginning to regret his promise to Rose. He'd meant what he said – Scorpius _didn't_ seem like the dating type. He'd never shown an interest in any of the Slytherin girls, nor any of the girls from the other houses. And as much as Albus loved his cousin, there were much prettier girls roaming the halls of Hogwarts. Surely, if Scorpius was going to pursue a girl, it would be some pretty, sophisticated Slytherin, not a shy, plain Ravenclaw like Rose.

He came to a stop at the wall that marked the entrance to the Slytherin common room and racked his brains for the password. He was particularly bad at remembering passwords, much to the annoyance of his fellow Slytherins. After a few moments he grinned and leaned close to the wall.

"_Medusa_," he murmured, his lips brushing against the brick. A passageway opened up, allowing entrance to the Slytherin common room. Albus slid inside just in time, nearly tripping over his feet as the wall closed behind him.

A fire flickered cheerfully in the hearth, filling the dungeon with warmth. Albus spotted a few of his fellow fifth years lounging on one of the dark leather sofas by the fire, looking drained. He dumped his bag by the door and made a beeline for the group.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said jovially, tipping an imaginary hat before sinking onto the only unoccupied sofa.

From behind him came an amused voice. "Why are you so happy, Potter?"

Albus looked up with a grin into the twinkling grey eyes of Scorpius Malfoy, who looked happy, but exhausted.

"Well, my dear Scorpius," Albus replied, affecting a stuffy tone, "I had a simply _delightful_ evening with my wonderful cousin Rose, during which she agreed to do my Transfiguration homework for me, in exchange for my lovely company."

Scorpius snorted, rounding the couch and taking a seat beside his friend. "More fool her," he said, though not unkindly. "Your 'wonderful' cousin Rose is much too nice for her own good. You should have been working on that essay yourself, with the rest of us poor buggers."

"I couldn't finish mine. Professor Lupin is going to _kill_ me," Portia Farley said mournfully. "You're lucky, Albus. You've got so many family connections that you could do no homework all year and still get all O's in your O.W.L.s."

Albus frowned. "I don't have _connections_, Portia," he replied icily. "I have family friends who won't give me an inch. Didn't you see what Professor Longbottom made me do in Herbology today?"

The other fifth years immediately erupted into a discussion about Herbology, the girls focussing on how 'hot' they thought Professor Longbottom was, the boys grumbling about the punishments he liked to dole out. Albus took the opportunity to sidle a little closer to Scorpius on the couch. If he was going to help Rose, he might as well get started.

"So," Albus said, wondering how exactly to segue into a conversation about _Rose_, with Scorpius of all people. "Er... are you taking anyone to the Halloween Ball this year?"

Scorpius looked at him, grey eyes surprised. "Why? Are you offering?"

Albus snorted, all awkwardness forgotten. "In your dreams, Malfoy," he said playfully, punching his friend in the arm. "Anyway, I know that we normally go stag, but we're older now. Maybe we should take girls this year."

Even saying it was difficult. He privately cursed Rose, wishing she'd kept her crush to herself. Still, he had to soldier on. For Rose's sake.

"Girls?" Scorpius repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Like who?"

"Oh, I dunno..." Albus blustered. Maybe he should retreat for the time being. "Just a thought."

Scorpius didn't reply.

"Right," Albus said, awkwardness creeping over him once more. "Well... I think I'll go to bed." He grabbed his bag, said goodnight to his fellow Slytherins and made for the fifth year boys dormitory. There was no-one there – everyone was either in the library or the common room.

He sank onto his emerald-sheeted four-poster with a sigh, closing his eyes tightly. He'd been part of Rose's plan for less than a few hours and already he was stressing. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea.

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><p>The next morning dawned cold and grey. Albus could tell from the moment he woke that the weather would be fierce – he could hear the water from the lake crashing against the windows in the dungeon. He dressed quickly, noting that he was the only boy still in the dormitory, and then made his way to the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling showed dark storm clouds and a sheet of rain.<p>

He slid into his usual seat at the Slytherin table, between Scorpius and Portia. He noticed Portia's cheeks redden as his side pressed against hers and groaned inwardly – she was one of the few Slytherin girls that he could tolerate. He _really_ didn't want to have to avoid her if she had a crush on him.

Oh well. At least it was Friday.

"Care of Magical Creatures is cancelled," Scorpius said through a mouthful of toast. He passed Albus his schedule. "The weather's too bad to take us out and Hagrid's lesson plan for today doesn't translate to indoor teaching, so we have a free period after lunch. I thought you could help me with that _silencio_ charm, Al."

"Fine by me," Albus said, reaching for a plate of bacon. "As long as you help me with the Vanishing Spell for Transfiguration. I can't get the hang of it."

Scorpius grinned. "Deal."

Albus grinned back, his smile widening as he saw a flurry of owls appear in the Great Hall. "Post!"

He spotted his brother's owl amidst the chaos, a small brown package attached to its foot. It flew toward the Gryffindor table, where it alighted between Lily and James. Albus eyed them carefully, making sure that they weren't hogging any sweets – their parents had a tendency to send goodies, and since James and Lily got the packages first, they always tried to take the good stuff before Albus got a chance to stop them.

However, after untying the package, Lily looked up and met his eyes with a smile. She held up a small purple package, which Albus identified as Chocolate Frogs. He slid out of his seat and approached the Gryffindor table, ignoring Portia's barely-audible mewl of protest as he left her side.

"Albus!" Lily said happily, swinging her legs over the bench and wrapping her skinny arms around Albus's neck. She held out the Chocolate Frogs. "Mum and Dad sent these for you – James tried to steal them, but I said I'd put a Bat-Bogey Hex on him if he didn't leave them alone."

"I wasn't trying to steal them," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry, o brother mine," Albus replied cheekily. "I won't hold it against you. What did Mum and Dad say?"

He leaned against the Gryffindor table while James and Lily filled him in on everything that was going on at home. While they spoke, he allowed his gaze to wander around the Great Hall, lingering on Scorpius and Portia at the Slytherin table before flitting over to Rose at the Ravenclaw table with Lysander Scamander and Genevieve Thomas. He stared at Rose for a moment and then glanced at the Chocolate Frogs in his hand. They were Scorpius's favourite treat – maybe he should...?

He waited politely until his siblings had finished talking and then excused himself, pecking Lily quickly on the cheek before making a beeline for the Ravenclaw table.

"Albus?" Rose said, her brow drawing together in confusion as he approached. "What are you doing–"

"Shut up, Rosie," he said pleasantly. "Morning, Lysander."

"Morning," Lysander replied through a mouthful of scrambled egg.

"Seriously, Albus, what are you doing–"

"Take these," Albus interrupted, pressing the Chocolate Frogs into her hand. "Give them to Scorpius in Potions. They're his favourite."

At the mention of Scorpius, a light blush appeared on Rose's cheeks. "I can't just walk up and _give_ him a packet of Chocolate Frogs," she hissed, shooting a furtive look in the blond boy's direction. "It's weird!"

Albus shrugged. "Fine," he said, holding out his hand. "If you don't want to, then just give them back."

Rose glanced at the package, then at Scorpius, and then back at the Chocolate Frogs. She nibbled on her lip before sighing. "They're really his favourite?"

"Absolutely," Albus promised. "You're welcome. I'll see you in Potions." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

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><p><em>So I hope you liked it ^_^ Please review!<em>


	3. Courtship, Weasley Style

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _OK, I know I only posted chapter two last night, but I've written all the way up to chapter five already and I'm impatient, so here you go :P Once again I want to say a **massive** thank you to anyone who's read, reviewed, favourited etc. I'm so glad that you took the time to read my story and I hope you'll stick around :) Anyway, onto the chapter!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Courtship, Weasley Style<strong>

"So..." Lysander said, watching Albus's retreat to the Slytherin table. "Scorpius Malfoy, huh?"

Rose whirled around, her cheeks growing red. "You were _eavesdropping_?" she said accusatorily, her hand tightening on the Chocolate Frog package. "Sander, that was a private conversation!"

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "A private conversation that you broadcast to the entire Ravenclaw table," he said dryly, helping himself to a second helping of eggs. "Next time you want to have a 'private' conversation, you might want to try the _muffliato_ spell."

Rose groaned loudly, burying her head in her hands. This was _not_good. She didn't want anyone to know about her crush on Scorpius before she was ready, especially her fellow Ravenclaws. Only Albus – and now Lysander – knew how she felt about the blond haired, grey eyed Slytherin.

"Hey," Lysander said, nudging her. "I'm not going to tell anybody, Rose. Just get your head off the table, people are starting to stare."

She straightened up, suddenly aware of the attention she was attracting. She tucked the Chocolate Frogs into her robes, dragged a hand through her unruly red hair and reached for her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Sorry," she muttered, taking a long draught. "It's just a secret."

"I'm not going to tell," Lysander repeated with a smile. "I promise."

She smiled at him gratefully and glanced at her watch, muttering a muffled curse as she saw what time it was. "I have to go," she said, standing and gathering her things together. "Or I'll be late for Potions – can't keep Professor Greengrass waiting. I'll see you later, Sander."

She hurried out of the Great Hall and headed for the dungeons, where a double Potions lesson awaited. Rose didn't mind Potions – Professor Greengrass was firm and she hated tardiness, but she was a fair teacher and hardly ever gave out severe punishments. Her father had told her that the Potions teacher who had taught them while they were at Hogwarts had been _very _different. Professor Snape sounded awful – though her mother told her that in the end, he was a hero. In fact, Albus's middle name was in honour of the dead Potions master.

Still, despite all of her mother's reassurances about Professor Snape's status as a hero, Rose was glad that she had Professor Greengrass instead.

She arrived at the dungeon just in time to join the line of students filtering through the door. She slid into line behind her best friend Genevieve Thomas, her heart fluttering a little as she spotted Scorpius standing by Professor Greengrass's desk. She wondered absently if he was having trouble with Potions and allowed herself a brief fantasy of what it would be like to tutor him – and then she came back to reality as her mind unkindly reminded her that Scorpius was the best in their Potions class. Professor Greengrass was Scorpius's aunt – they were probably just discussing something family related.

Rose took a seat at her regular table, along with Genevieve, Albus's friend Portia Farley and Portia's best friend and shadow Poppy Parkinson. Rose liked Portia, though she often felt uneasy around her. As for Poppy... Rose's parents had known her mother, and they'd made it clear on more than one occasion that she wasn't a good witch. Poppy's family had been associated with Lord Voldemort – and unlike those who had repented after the Second Wizarding War, Poppy's mother had always been a firm advocate of what she liked to call "pureblood rights". Needless to say, Rose and Poppy didn't get along.

"Settle down," Professor Greengrass said smoothly, closing the door with a flick of her wand. "Today, we will be working on the Draught of Peace. This is an exceptionally difficult potion to make, so it will require full concentration. You'll find the instructions on the blackboard. You may begin – and try not to blow anything up, Finnigan." She arched a delicately plucked eyebrow at Wesley Finnigan, who looked down sheepishly. Rose suppressed a giggle. Wesley was infamous for his talent to blow _anything_ up – without intending to, that is.

The class got to work, murmuring amongst themselves about the different ingredients and worrying about whether or not they would be asked to test it on themselves. Professor Greengrass weaved her way through the desks, peering into the students' cauldrons as she passed. She gave Rose an approving nod as she passed by her, prompting an irritated puff of breath from Genevieve's direction.

"Why are you so perfect?" Genevieve hissed, stirring her potion furiously. "Seriously, Rosie, what is your secret? Steroids? _Felix felicis_? You can tell me, I'll keep it a secret, I swear."

"Ssh," Rose whispered, though she was unable to stop a small smile from tugging at your lips. "Your potion is starting to spark."

Sure enough, green sparks were starting to shoot out of Genevieve's cauldron. Professor Greengrass approached them, a pained look stretching her features.

"Nice effort, Miss Thomas," she said, waving her wand and causing the contents of Genevieve's cauldron to disappear, "but you forgot to stir counter-clockwise. Try not to forget that next time."

Genevieve mumbled something unintelligible under her breath and slumped forward on the table, eyeing Rose's potion balefully.

"I hate people like you," she declared, narrowing her eyes. "Why does everything go so _well_ for you? You're _golden_, Rose. You're perfect at everything."

_Not everything,_ Rose thought wistfully, her eyes flickering towards Scorpius. He was sitting with Albus, a Ravenclaw named Peter Strutton and a Gryffindor named Damien Wood. His potion was going even better than hers – it had already turned the turquoise colour that signified success, and silvery fumes were rising from the cauldron.

She thought of the Chocolate Frogs burning a hole in her pocket and nibbled anxiously on her lip. If she didn't give them to Scorpius by the end of the class, Albus would _kill_ her. But how was she supposed to go about it? Should she just hand them to him? Or should she try flirting? Did she even know _how_ to flirt?

"Rose!" Genevieve yelped, jumping backwards. "Your potion–"

She was cut off by a loud _bang_ which caught the attention of the rest of the class. Rose automatically turned in Wesley Finnigan's direction, assuming that he'd managed to set himself on fire again – before realizing that the sleeve of her robe was smoking.

"Oh!" she gasped, her eyes growing wide.

Professor Greengrass suddenly appeared by her side. She raised her wand, pointed it at Rose's robes and said in a clear, loud voice, "_Aguamenti_." A jet of water shot from the tip of her wand, extinguishing the flames with a sizzle.

Rose dropped her gaze to her cauldron, blushing fiercely. She'd never messed up a potion before – and she'd never managed to set herself on fire during a lesson.

"Distracted, Miss Weasley?" Professor Greengrass said, her lips pursed.

"Er, yes, Professor," Rose mumbled, avoiding the teacher's eyes.

"Mmm," Professor Greengrass said. "Well, try to focus on the task at hand, Miss Weasley. You can try again next week." She waved her wand and the contents of Rose's cauldron disappeared. With a curt nod, Professor Greengrass left to go check on another student's work. With a groan, Rose slumped onto the table.

"You were thinking about a boy."

She stiffened at the sound of Poppy Parkinson's voice.

"What?" she said, trying to seem nonchalant.

Poppy sidled closer, abandoning her potion, which had turned an odd grey colour. Her dark eyes were twinkling dangerously and an amused smirk tugged at her lips. "When your potion blew up. You were thinking about a boy."

Rose's heart thudded, but she wasn't going to let the Slytherin girl get the better of her. "What makes you think that?" she said boldly, channelling her inner Weasley. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable – Genevieve was watching their exchange with wide eyes and Portia was leaning a little closer so that she could listen in.

"I know a lovestruck witch when I see one," Poppy drawled, her smirk growing wider. "And you _definitely_ fall into that category."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said.

"Yeah," Genevieve piped up. "If Rose was thinking about a boy, I'd know about it. Right, Rosie?"

"Right," Rose lied. Genevieve looked mollified. Portia looked suspicious, while Poppy merely looked amused.

"Whatever you say, Weasley," she said, returning to her potion. "But I say you've got it _bad_."

And as Rose's eyes flickered to Scorpius once more, she had to admit that the other girl was right.

By the time the bell rang to signify the end of class, Rose had almost forgotten all about the Chocolate Frogs in her pocket. At least, she managed to forget about them until Albus caught her eye and mouthed _go_, gesturing furiously in Scorpius's direction.

She slid off of her seat, cheeks burning, and approached Scorpius slowly. Albus was keeping him from leaving the dungeon and he grinned as he saw her approach.

"Well, I better get to Charms," he said quickly. "See you later, Scorpius!"

"What?" Scorpius said, sounding confused. "Al, we're in the same – Albus!" He stared after his friend bemusedly before turning and spotting Rose standing behind him. "Oh, hi, Rose."

"Hi," Rose said, trying to ignore her thudding heart. "Um, do you want to walk to Charms with me?"

And then, miracle of miracles, Scorpius smiled. He was really beautiful when he smiled, Rose noticed. His teeth were white and shiny and straight, but not _too_ straight. And when he smiled his eyes sparkled in a way that made them look more silver than grey. He was beautiful. Really, really beautiful.

"Sure," he said, shouldering his bag. "Seeing as Albus _abandoned_ me." He chuckled and then headed for the door, pausing to let her leave first. That made Rose smile – he was a gentleman.

They threaded their way through the throngs of students, heading for the Charms corridor.

"So I saw what happened to your potion," Scorpius said casually, ducking around a pair of bickering third years. "What happened? You're normally my only competition in that class."

Rose's heart soared. A compliment!

"I guess I was distracted," she said shyly, fingering the Chocolate Frogs in her pocket.

"Yeah?" Scorpius said absently, craning his neck as they neared the Charms classroom. "Oh, there's Albus."

"Yeah," Rose said, feeling strangely annoyed at the mention of her cousin. She withdrew the Chocolate Frogs, taking a deep breath. "Um, Scorpius? I – I thought you might want these. Albus said they're your favourite."

"Hmm, what – oh," he said, blinking. "Thanks, Rose, that's sweet. You should sit with me and Albus in Charms today – I saw Poppy hassling you in Potions."

He was looking out for her! That had to mean he liked her, even a little bit. A warm feeling settled in her stomach.

"I'd love to," Rose smiled. Maybe she wasn't so bad at this flirting thing after all.

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><p>"No, no, no," Albus sighed, grabbing Scorpius's wrist. "You don't <em>wave<em> your wand, you jab it. Like this."

He jabbed his wand in Scorpius's direction and muttered, "_Silencio_."

Scorpius opened his mouth to utter a sarcastic retort and found that he couldn't speak. Frowning, he made an obscene gesture at his best friend. Albus grinned and lifted the charm.

They'd been working on the Silencing Charm for the past hour and Scorpius had yet to show any signs of improvement. He still stubbornly insisted on twirling his wand like one of the Muggle cheerleading batons Lily had loved when she was younger. On the plus side, Albus had gotten so good at the charm that he could do it non-verbally. His cousin Victoire – _Professor Weasley_, he reminded himself – would be impressed.

"Let me try again," Scorpius said, furrowing his brow. He raised his wand and made an odd sort of twisting motion. "_Silencio_."

"Wrong again," Albus said. "_Jab_ it, Scorpius. Like you're punching somebody."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I don't go around punching people, Al."

"Try it," Albus urged. Scorpius rolled his eyes and did as he was told.

"_Silencio_!"

Albus opened his mouth – and surprisingly, nothing came out of it. Scorpius's eyes grew wide as Albus's lips flapped, no sound leaving them at all. A slow grin spread across his face and he let out a whoop of delight, punching the air.

"I did it!" he crowed. "I actually – oh, hang on." He lifted the charm. "I did it, Al!"

Albus shook his head. "Alright, you did it," he admitted, smiling. "OK, I held up my part of the bargain, now it's time for you to teach me the Vanishing Spell."

They spent the next half hour practising the spell, using old quills and empty inkwells as practice material. By the time they had finished, they were both exhausted. They sprawled out on the couches in the empty common room – all of the other Slytherins were either in class or studying in the library.

Albus was grateful for the silence – he'd had a hectic week. There had been homework and tests to deal with, and on top of that, he'd had Rose's crush to worry about. Tomorrow there would be Quidditch practice, so he was going to take whatever down time he could get.

Unfortunately, Scorpius didn't seem to have the same idea.

"Rose was acting really weird today," he said curiously, fixing Albus with a heavy stare. "Any idea why?"

"Me?" Albus said, blinking innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "Really. Because you've been acting kind of weird too, Albus," he said.

"Honestly, Scorpius," Albus said breezily, waving his hand. "You're so paranoid. Not everyone is out to _get_ you, you know."

"I don't think everyone's out to get me!" Scorpius protested.

"Yes, you do," Albus argued. "Last week you thought that Alexander Zabini stole your dress robes. And the week before that, you thought that Jeffrey Shunpike stole your Transfiguration textbook. And both of them were just buried at the bottom of your trunk. Face it, Scorpius. You're paranoid."

Scorpius huffed. "I had good reason to assume those things," he said haughtily. "And I'm not being paranoid about you and Rose. You two are up to something. I know it."

Albus grinned toothily. "Well then," he said smoothly. "You'll just have to wait and see what it is."

Scorpius opened his mouth to argue with him but he was cut off by the sound of the passageway grating open. A giggling Portia Farley tumbled into the common room, followed by Poppy Parkinson and Louisa Aldridge. Upon spotting Albus and Scorpius sprawled on the couches, Portia straightened up and stopped laughing. She smoothed down her hair, pouted her lips and sauntered over to the two boys.

"Hi, Albus," she said in what she probably thought was a flirty tone. "Scorpius."

Albus groaned inwardly. "Hi, Portia," he replied, shooting a withering glance in Scorpius's direction, which the other boy returned sympathetically. Throughout the day, Portia's growing crush on Albus had become more and more evident. She was bordering on stalking by this point.

"So, Albus," Portia continued, fluttering her lashes. "Are you asking anyone to the Halloween Ball?"

"I haven't decided," Albus said lazily, stretching out on the couch.

"Well," Portia said, glancing at Poppy and Louisa, "I was thinking that maybe _we_ –"

"Shouldn't you get going, Albus?" Scorpius interrupted, getting to his feet and shooting Albus a _look_. "Don't you have Charms Club now?"

Albus blinked. Actually, the Charms Club never met on a Friday, and they always met after dinner, not before – but Portia didn't know that. Scorpius was offering him an out. He smiled gratefully at his friend and then pasted an apologetic expression on his face for Portia's benefit.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," he said, standing and stretching his arms behind his head. "Sorry, Portia, but I can't be late for Charms Club. Responsibilities and all that. I'll see you later though, OK?"

He made a beeline for the exit, resisting the urge to gag at Portia's lovesick puppy eyes. He was going to have to do something about that – before it got out of hand.

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><p><em>Hope you all enjoyed that. Please review if you have the time! :)<em>


	4. Green Eyed Monster

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _Thanks so much for all the story alerts and favourites! It means a lot to know that someone's actually reading this ^_^ Though a review would be even better *hint hint***. **Oh god, I am a shameless review whore... I'm sorry, you guys. I really am. But that doesn't mean you can't leave me a review anyway *cough*. OK, so enjoy the chapter :P_

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Green-Eyed Monster<strong>

After Albus's abrupt departure from the common room, Portia's mood dropped significantly. She shot Scorpius a withering look, linked arms with Poppy and stalked towards the girl's dormitory, snapping at Louisa to stay where she was. Once she and Poppy were safely cloistered in the empty fifth year dormitory, Portia let loose.

"It's not working," she said through gritted teeth, glaring at her best friend. "You said that all I had to do was flirt with him and pretend that I was interested in his family. Well, when I brought up his family connections he got _mad_ at me, and when I tried to flirt with him, he _left_. What the hell, Poppy?"

Poppy shrugged. "What did you expect?" she drawled. "I'm not exactly the romance guru. I just told you what I thought would work."

"So why didn't it?" Portia snapped.

"Maybe he's gay," Poppy suggested wickedly, flinching back as Portia hissed at her. "Or maybe he likes another girl."

"Who, though?" Portia demanded.

"Genevieve Thomas has a crush on him," Poppy said, beginning to look bored. "You know, that little Ravenclaw girl with the curly hair. She's been throwing herself at him all year, and I overheard her begging Rose Weasley to put in a good word for her."

Portia's eyes flashed. She knew who Genevieve Thomas was, alright. She liked her well enough, but if Genevieve liked Albus in _that_ way, then that was all about to change. Portia had liked Albus for too long to lose him to some uppity, pompous Ravenclaw.

Not many people knew about it, but Portia had liked Albus way back in first year. She hadn't known at the time, of course – she'd only been a little kid. But there'd been something there, something small that grew and blossomed over the years, until she reached the point of no return. Portia was in love with Albus Potter, and she'd always assumed that he felt the same. Except it was becoming increasingly evident that Albus either didn't know how she felt or didn't care.

She wasn't sure which would be more painful.

"What can I do?" she asked desperately, sinking onto her bed. "What can I do to make him like me?"

"You can't _make_ him like you," Poppy said, rolling her eyes. "Free will and all that crap. But you can certainly do something to catch his attention."

Portia stared at her best friend impatiently. "Well?"

"First of all, fix that bird's nest you call a hairdo," Poppy said distastefully, running her eyes over Portia's blonde mane. "Go short. Make a statement."

Portia fingered her long blonde locks. They were her pride and joy – they were a part of her, really. She'd always had long blonde hair, just like she'd always had big brown eyes and a smile that looked more like a smirk. Was she really willing to cut it off for a boy?

And then she thought of Albus's messy dark hair and his mesmerizing green eyes and her mind was made up.

She nodded. "What else?"

"Lose some weight," Poppy said flatly, ignoring the hurt look in Portia's eyes. "You're starting to put on a few and love handles are _not_ attractive."

"Fine. And then?"

"Show him what he's missing," Poppy instructed. "In other words, make him jealous. Pick some dimwit who you can control, and then make him your boyfriend. If you're lucky, Albus will get mad at seeing you with another guy, crack under the pressure and then beg you to take him to the Halloween Ball."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Poppy shrugged again. "Like I said," she said irritably, "I'm not a romance guru. If that doesn't work, you're on your own." She turned on her heel and exited the dormitory, flipping Portia off as she left.

Portia rolled her eyes and lay down on her bed, mulling Poppy's words over in her head. The other girl was harsh, and she could be cruel, but maybe she had a point. Portia was too ordinary – there were a hundred other girls who looked just like her at Hogwarts. And it wasn't as if she had any special talents to make her stand out from the crowd. If she wanted Albus to notice her, she had to make a change.

She would start with the hair, she decided. Flora Vaisey in sixth year was handy with a pair of scissors – Portia would ask her when she returned to the common room. As for the weight loss, she probably could stand to lose a few pounds. She would avoid fried food at breakfast and switch her evening pumpkin juice to an evening water. She could handle that.

And as for the dimwit boyfriend... well, there were plenty of Slytherin boys who would kill to have Portia Farley hanging off their arm.

Portia smirked. Phase one of her plan to ensnare Albus Potter was about to begin.

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><p>Since the Charms Club excuse he'd given Portia meant that he had to avoid the common room for the next hour or so, Albus decided to visit Rose and see how things had gone with Scorpius. He could have interrogated Scorpius, of course, but he wanted to avoid the topic of Rose for the time being. After all, Scorpius had already sensed that something was going on – they were going to have to be more careful from now on.<p>

He found her in the library, bent over an Ancient Runes essay. She looked up, frazzled, as he approached.

"Whatever it is, I don't have time," she said quickly, before he could speak. "Professor Babbling assigned us sixteen inches by Monday and I've barely got three inches and I don't know what else to _write_, so I don't want to know about your Quidditch practice or your Charms Club or the million girls lining up to ask you to the Ball–"

"Rosie," Albus interrupted, putting his hand over her mouth. "Calm down. I just wanted to ask how it went with Scorpius this afternoon."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh," she said, smiling. "In that case, have a seat."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Alright, Juliet," he teased. "Go ahead. Gush to your heart's content."

And she did. Rose went on at length about the brief conversation she and Scorpius had had, going into great detail about how his eyes had lit up when he smiled and his hand had been so soft when he took the Chocolate Frogs from her. Albus zoned out a little, smiling and nodding at appropriate points, but really wondering what Scorpius was doing and what Flood had planned for Quidditch practice the next day.

"... and then he asked me to sit with him in Charms," Rose finished, beaming at him. "So? What do you think? Do you think he likes me?"

"What?" Albus said, blinking. "Oh. Uh. I guess, Rosie. I don't know."

"Did he say anything about me?" she asked eagerly, leaning forwards, her Ancient Runes essay forgotten. "After lunch? Because I thought he looked like he really liked me when I gave him those Chocolate Frogs."

Privately, Albus thought that the smile had more to do with his favourite chocolate than his favourite _girl_, but he didn't say anything. He shrugged, beginning to feel a little irritated with Rose.

"Me and Scorpius don't really talk about girls," he said shortly.

"You don't?" Rose said, crestfallen.

"No," Albus replied, looking at his watch. "We should go to dinner. Coming?" He stood, offering her his arm, hoping that the subject of his best friend would be forgotten until another day. To his relief, Rose nodded, gathered up her things and followed him out of the library.

They walked to the Great Hall in silence, and upon their arrival found that the enchanted ceiling was still covered in dark storm clouds. Albus and Rose parted ways, he heading for the Slytherin table while she joined her fellow Ravenclaws. Albus slid into a seat between Scorpius and Jeffrey Shunpike, noting with interest and relief that Portia was mysteriously absent.

"How was Charms Club?" Scorpius said under his breath, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Fantastic," Albus replied breezily. "I learned a more effective way to perform the Silencing Charm. Mind if I try it out on you?"

Scorpius nudged him playfully in the side and helped himself to a large plate of mashed potatoes. Albus followed suit, loading his plate with potatoes, beef and vegetables. His stomach growled at the sight of the rich food and he licked his lips in anticipation. He studiously avoided Rose's gaze, though he could feel her eyes boring into him from across the room. He knew what she wanted – she wanted him to talk her up to Scorpius. Well, he wasn't going to do it. Not so blatantly, anyway. He'd agreed to help Rose, he hadn't agreed to do _everything_ for her.

Halfway through dinner, he heard a few of the third year Slytherin girls whispering amongst themselves. Normally he didn't bother with their gossip, but this time, he heard something that piqued his interest. He turned to one of the third years, a stout, pug-faced girl named Gemma Anderson.

"Excuse me," he said in the most charming voice he could muster. "I couldn't help but overhear... what was that you said about Portia Farley?"

Gemma's eyes widened, like she couldn't believe the great Albus Potter was actually speaking to her. "Well," she gushed, leaning forward, "she cut her hair off. All of it. And Louisa Aldridge said it's for a _guy_."

"Thank you," Albus smiled, but it was forced. His stomach was starting to churn. If Portia had cut her hair off for a boy – and he assumed that boy was him – then she must be serious about him. Portia's hair was like her _baby_.

"Wow," Scorpius said, winking at Albus. "Should I start preparing my best man's speech?"

"Shut it, Malfoy," Albus muttered. "It's not funny."

"So you don't like her?" Scorpius said, pushing his carrots around his plate. "I mean, not even a little?" He looked uncertain. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Scorpius," he said clearly. "I would rather chew my own _leg_ off than go out with Portia Farley. Happy?"

Scorpius grinned. "Nah," he said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "I was hoping she'd take you off my hands."

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><p><em>Alright, things should start moving a bit faster from the next chapter on, so I hope someone sticks around to read it. <strong><span>Please please please<span>** leave me a review if you have the time. I really would love the feedback. After all, I need to know if I'm good at this, right? :P_

_Oh god. I need help *hangs head in shame*_


	5. Feinting

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _Hi there *grin* I know I do this every chapter, but I still want to thank everyone who has favourited this or put it on story alert. Also a huge thank you and homemade cookies for all of the people who have reviewed so far - **Miharummm, MesserMessa, JuicyPumpkin, Kzaen, tikoala, Lizzy0308, Anna, Vita, D.C, Rach, MareG8, LilyGinnyBlack and tayl0r.** Knowing that people like this story is what makes me want to continue and I can't thank you guys enough for taking the time to review 3 So, here's chapter five, and your first look inside Scorpius Malfoy's head. I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to review :D_

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Feinting<strong>

Scorpius woke early on Saturday morning, his body already charged with adrenaline for Quidditch practice. It was mid October and they hadn't had a real practice yet, so he was even more eager than usual to get out on the pitch and practice. The team was the same as last year's, and he knew that they were all talented, so Scorpius felt confident about their chances – although they had _lost_ the last Cup, to _Hufflepuff_ of all people.

If he was being honest, however, Quidditch had little to do with the reason for his early rising. No, there was something else on his mind, something else that was making his blood boil and his heart beat faster.

_Albus_. Scorpius sneaked a quick look at his slumbering best friend, who was just visible through a gap in the emerald curtains. His arm was thrown over his face and his jet black hair was sticking out in every direction, bringing a smile to Scorpius's face. He looked adorable like that. Peaceful, without any trace of his trademark cheeky grin.

He suppressed a sigh. _Why_ couldn't he get Albus out of his head? He thought about him all the time – when they were in class, when they were studying, when they were playing Quidditch. It didn't help that Al was always there. He and Albus had always been inseparable, but now that he knew how he felt about the other boy, their closeness was unbearable.

And now Portia Farley had started making her intentions known, and it was all Scorpius could do to avoid slapping her when she started thrusting her chest in Albus's direction.

The thing that _really_ unnerved Scorpius was that he had no idea what Albus thought of it all. Sure, it wasn't like he encouraged Portia, and he had certainly looked grateful when Scorpius had given him an excuse to escape from her – but maybe that was just a front. Maybe Albus really liked Portia but was just afraid to confront his feelings – kind of like how Scorpius felt about Al.

He shook his head, darting another quick glance at Albus. The other boy was snoring lightly now, always a sign that he was about to wake up. Sure enough, a moment later Albus yawned widely and sat up, stretching his arms behind his head. Scorpius looked away quickly – Albus slept shirtless, and that was something he really didn't want to have to deal with this morning.

"Morning, Scor," Albus yawned, scratching his head. Scorpius stiffened at the nickname – from anyone else, he would have hated it, but somehow it sounded amazing when it was coming from Al's lips.

"Morning," he replied, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Ready for practice later?"

Albus groaned, flopping back onto his pillows and covering his face with the duvet. "Don't remind me," he said, his voice muffled. "I have to work with Alexander Zabini. Tool." He shot a dirty look in Alexander's direction.

Scorpius laughed nervously, hoping that Alexander was still asleep. He hated Zabini just as much as Albus did, but that didn't mean he wanted to get on his bad side. Alexander was well-known for his short fuse and his love of violence, and Scorpius had been on the receiving end of one of his bad moods one too many times to go looking for a fight.

"There are other members on the team," he reminded Albus. "And it's worth working with Zabini to win the House Cup, right?"

"Right," Albus agreed grudgingly, emerging from his cover cocoon. "In that case, we should start practicing. FLINT! ZABINI! GET YOUR ASSES OUT OF BED!"

Scorpius winced and covered his ears, feeling sorry for Jeffrey Shunpike, the only fifth year boy who wasn't on the Quidditch team – even though Jeff didn't get the fun and glory of being on the house team, he still had to deal with waking up early on practice days.

"Shut your mouth, Potter," Zabini snapped, sliding out of bed. Scorpius resisted the urge to laugh at his emerald and silver silk pyjamas. _Not worth it_, he reminded himself.

"Now is that any way to talk to a fellow Chaser, Alexander?" Albus said sweetly, batting his eyelashes and digging through his trunk for his Quidditch robes. "Someone go wake Tuckett and Pucey. And figure out some way of getting Flood out of the girls' dormitory without setting off the hidden alarm system."

"I keep telling you, there's no hidden alarm system in the girls' dormitory," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "I'll get Flood."

Tristan Flint grunted something about Tuckett and Pucey and then disappeared from the dorm, closely followed by Scorpius. It usually fell to him to wake their team captain, Amy Flood – mainly because Scorpius was the only one who was willing to go into the girls' dormitory. He'd always found that strange. He would have thought that the boys would have been climbing over each other at a chance to see the girls in their sleepwear, but they all seemed a little afraid of the oak door that led to the girls' sleeping quarters.

He threaded his way through the winding corridors that made up the girls' dormitory and stopped in front of the door that led to the seventh years' room.

"Amy?" he said softly, knocking on the door. "It's Scorpius. We're ready to practice... uh, so we'll meet you in the common room in fifteen, if that's OK."

A muffled grunt reached his ears and he shrugged, taking that as affirmation. He returned to the boys' dormitory to find Albus, Zabini and Flint dressed in their green and silver Quidditch robes. Zabini and Flint were deep in conversation, while Albus was humming cheerfully under his breath.

Scorpius changed quickly and the four boys made their way down to the common room, where they met up with the other members of the team – Antoine Tuckett, Darren Pucey and Amy Flood. Amy was the only girl on the team and had established her authority as team captain two years ago. Scorpius liked her – she was strict and she worked them like dogs, but she cared about her team and looked out for them both on and off the pitch.

"Alright, team," Flood said, leading the way out of the common room. "First match of the year is in three weeks. Slytherin v. Gryffindor. Think we can beat them?"

"Hell yeah!" Albus cheered, throwing his hands in the air. Flood grinned affectionately at him.

"That's the spirit, Potter," she said, clapping him on the back. "Think Scorpius is a match for your brother?"

"I don't think it," Albus said, meeting Scorpius's eyes. "I _know_ it."

Scorpius blushed and ducked his head so that no-one would notice. They made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, stopping by the equipment shed to grab their broomsticks and the trunk of equipment. Once they had collected them, they headed straight for the pitch. Tuckett and Pucey carried the equipment trunk between them.

"OK, guys," Flood said, coming to a stop in the middle of the pitch and shouldering her broom. "We had a good season last year. We didn't _win_, but we learned some important strategies, which we're going to put to good use this year. We've got a good team here – our Chasers are sneaky, our Beaters are strong, our Keeper has great senses and our Seeker is _fast_. There is nothing standing in our way this year. So what are we going to do, Slytherin?"

"Win," they chorused, familiar with the drill. Flood grinned.

"And how are we going to do it?"

"Teamwork," they shouted.

"That's right," Flood confirmed. "Alright, here's what I want to work on today. My fellow Chasers and I will be practicing the Sloth Grip Roll – Gryffindor have a new Beater, Roxanne Weasley. The other teams will underestimate her because she's a girl, but I saw her in action over the summer, and she's _fierce_. We'll have the upper hand because we'll know how to beat her."

"Roxy?" Albus said, looking bemused. "She can play Quidditch?"

_That's right,_ Scorpius remembered absently. Roxanne was Albus's cousin.

"She can do more than play Quidditch, Potter," Flood said swiftly. "She can play Quidditch _well_. So, since we're going to practice the Sloth Grip Roll, we'll need our Beaters to aim Bludgers at us – got it, Tuckett and Zabini?"

Tuckett and Zabini nodded. Flood carried on.

"We'll also be trying to make goals while avoiding the Bludgers, so you're going to have to keep your eyes sharp, Pucey. Can you do that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Pucey grunted.

"Perfect. Now, Malfoy," Flood continued, turning her gaze to Scorpius. "I understand you were practicing the Wronski Feint over the summer?"

"Yeah," Scorpius nodded.

"That's good," Flood praised. "Ambitious, but if you can get it down by the match, it could be a real asset. Can you work on that today?"

He nodded again.

"Great. Alright, Pucey, Tuckett. Open the trunk."

The two boys complied, moving forward and throwing open the latches on the ancient trunk. Scorpius watch the Bludgers fly into the air, closely followed by the Golden Snitch. Albus took the Quaffle. With all balls released, the team kicked off, focusing on their respective tasks.

Scorpius immediately got to work on the Wronski Feint. It was a particularly difficult move which involved diving down and then pulling away from the ground at the last moment. He'd gotten into quite a few scrapes over the summer when he hadn't pulled up in time – he hoped that he could pull it off this time. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of any of his teammates, especially Albus.

An hour later, the team trudged to the changing rooms, tired but satisfied. Albus was in a cheerful mood, probably because Zabini had gotten hit in the face twice by Bludgers. Scorpius was equally as happy – he'd almost managed to perfect the Wronski Feint, and thinking about performing it during the match against Gryffindor made his stomach flutter with excitement.

They split off into groups after changing, with Flood opting to return to the common room to study, Tuckett, Zabini and Flint heading for the lake and Pucey, Albus and Scorpius choosing to go to the castle in search of lunch.

As they made their way to the castle, Pucey brought up the topic that seemed to be on everyone's mind lately – namely, girls, and the Halloween Ball.

"I was thinking of asking Hestia Aarons," he said gruffly, seeming embarrassed.

"You should," Albus said encouragingly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "I mean, go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

Scorpius watched his best friend wistfully, wishing he could apply the same philosophy to his feelings for Albus. It was an entirely different situation, however. If Hestia turned Pucey down, all he would have to worry about was a bruised ego – if Albus turned Scorpius down, on the other hand... he wouldn't just lose out on a date. He would lose his best friend.

"I guess," Pucey said uncertainly. "Who're you two going with?"

Scorpius blanched as he remembered Albus's words from a few days before. Normally, they went to the Ball together – as friends, unfortunately – but this year, Albus actually wanted to go with girls. Of course Al would have no trouble finding a date – all of the Potters were unnaturally popular, unnaturally beautiful and unnaturally _likeable_, so of course girls would be lining up to go with him. As far as Scorpius was concerned though... he was a Malfoy. And while that name used to carry with it great honour and respect, these days it was more of a burden. He doubted any girl would want to go to the Ball with him.

Not that he wanted to go with them, either, but that was besides the point.

The three Slytherins entered the Great Hall, nearly running over Rose Weasley and Genevieve Thomas in their haste to get some food inside of them. Pucey and Albus muttered a quick apology and then made a beeline for the Slytherin table, but Scorpius hesitated. He spotted Portia Farley heading in Albus's direction, sporting a brand new short hairstyle, and something inside of him snapped. On impulse, he flashed Rose a smile.

"Hi, Rose," he said, trying to affect the charming tone that Albus managed so effortlessly. "Hi, Genevieve."

"Hi, Scorpius," Genevieve replied, looking confused. Rose simply smiled and blushed.

"Listen, Rose," Scorpius said, drawing her away. "I was just wondering... would you go to the Halloween Ball with me?"

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><p><em>And finally we see some drama :P I really like this chapter for some reason. I think it's because Scorpius is so fun to write. I hope he was as much fun to read :D Please review!<em>

**_P.S._**_ I just want to make it clear that this story is NOT taking place in real time, so you won't have to wait until Halloween to read about the Halloween Ball. I've written up to chapter six and I'm planning on chapter seven centering on the H.B. I think. Also I want to try and take this story all the way to the end of the school year, but I'm not sure how that will go. Er, anyway, you can go now. But click the review button first *puppy dog eyes*_


	6. Crossing Lines

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _so I'm not too sure how many of you actually READ these author's notes, but I felt I should put one here anyway to apologize for not updating sooner. The truth is that I've been in hospital since Thursday, so I even though I've had this chapter written for ages, I didn't have any internet access to post it. Anyway, I'm home now and hopefully won't be back in the hospital for a long time, so I hope you enjoy this update :) Please review if you have the time!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: Crossing Lines<strong>

"We have a problem."

Rose opened her eyes blearily to find Genevieve sitting on the end of her bed, her lips pulled into a sharp pout. The dormitory was empty – Alicia, Isla and Millie had already headed down for breakfast. With a sigh, Rose sat up and dragged a hand across her eyes. She had a feeling she knew what this was about.

"Shoot," she said, suppressing a yawn.

"Portia Farley is planning on asking Albus to the Ball," Genevieve said dramatically, blinking at Rose.

Rose shrugged. "So?"

"So _I_ was planning on asking Albus to the Ball!" her friend said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Rosie, this is a disaster. I can't compete with Portia! She's a Slytherin – they're in the _same house_. They can canoodle in the common room and bond over their love of snakes!"

Rose rolled her eyes and slid out of bed. "I don't think Albus wants to canoodle with Portia in the common room, Gen," she said, gathering up her robes. "And for that matter, I don't think he's particularly fond of snakes."

Genevieve turned away dutifully while Rose got dressed, though she didn't stop ranting about Albus and Portia.

"That's not the point! She's pretty and perfect and _pureblood_ and–"

"OK, stop," Rose interrupted, turning around to glare at the brunette. "First of all, Albus doesn't care about blood status – it would be kind of hypocritical if he did, seeing as his dad is a _half-blood_. Secondly, you're prettier than Portia and you know that, so stop fishing for compliments. And _finally_, Albus has never shown any indication that he likes Portia, so you can relax. If you're really that worried about him taking her to the Ball, why don't you ask him first?"

That managed to calm Genevieve down. She abandoned her Portia-is-better-than-me attitude and immediately started quizzing Rose on the best way to ask Albus out. Rose knew better than to try to steer the conversation in a different direction, so she humoured her friend while they walked to the Great Hall together. She pretended to listen to Gen's questions, offering nods and "hmm's" in reply, but really she was thinking about the impending Halloween Ball and wondering if she would be able to pluck up the courage to ask Scorpius.

Their brief exchange yesterday had given her hope – after all, Scorpius _must_ like her a little bit if he'd asked her sit with him. And then later on he had smiled at her when they passed each other on the way to their respective common rooms.

But Albus had been very standoffish when she'd asked him if Scorpius had said anything about her. Maybe she was thinking too soon.

She suppressed a sigh as she and Genevieve took their seats at the Ravenclaw table. This romance thing was a lot harder than she'd expected.

She helped herself to a large breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs, deciding that she'd better load up on some fried courage if she was even _thinking_ about asking Scorpius to the Ball. She was halfway through her second helping of bacon when a shadow fell over the table and a low cough alerted her to someone's presence.

"Portia," Genevieve said, her voice too sweet. "Why aren't you at the Slytherin table?"

Rose turned to find Portia Farley standing behind her, sporting a platinum blonde pixie cut that instantly made her envious. Muggle strangers found Rose's particular shade of red hair quite beautiful and unusual, but in the wizarding world it was anything but. In Hogwarts, it just marked her as another Weasley.

"I just wanted to speak to Rose for a minute," Portia said, smiling. Rose swallowed hard.

"Um. If this is about Albus–" she began, but she was cut off by the other girl's laugh.

"Actually, it _is_ about Albus," Portia said, folding her arms over her chest. "I was hoping you could tell me where he is. He wasn't in the common room this morning and I have something... _important_, that I want to ask him."

Beside Rose, Genevieve spluttered on her pumpkin juice.

"Oh, I don't know, Portia," the redhead said regretfully, slapping Genevieve on the back. "Sorry."

The Slytherin girl pursed her lips before turning sharply on her heel and walking away. Genevieve clutched Rose's robes harshly.

"See!" she hissed, her face red. "Something _important_ to ask? She's going to ask him to the Ball!"

"Calm," Rose instructed, fanning Genevieve with her hand. "Just relax, Gen. Let's go back to the common room and play some Exploding Snap. You'll feel better." The brunette huffed, but allowed Rose to take her arm and lead her to the door. They were almost in the Entrance Hall when two green and silver blurs raced past them, another coming to a stop just in front of them.

Rose blinked, her cheeks colouring as she realized the figure in front of her was none other than Scorpius Malfoy, and the two who had just gone rushing past were Albus and Darren Pucey.

"Hi, Rose," Scorpius said, his deep voice sending thrills running down her spine. "Hi, Genevieve."

"Hi, Scorpius," Gen replied, raising her eyebrows. She made as if to tug Rose away, but the redhead stood her ground, giving Scorpius the biggest smile she could muster.

Before she knew what was happening, Scorpius had laid a pale hand on her arm and was leading her away from Genevieve, who was goggling at the pair like they were from another planet.

"Listen, Rose," Scorpius said, fixing his grey eyes on her blue ones. "I was just wondering... would you go to the Halloween Ball with me?"

She gaped at him, her eyes growing as wide and round as dinner plates, her heart stopping for a brief moment. Had he really said what she thought he'd said? Was Scorpius Malfoy _really_ asking her to the Halloween Ball?

"I – uh, what?" she blustered, blushing harder than ever.

Scorpius smiled. "Would you go to the Ball with me?" he repeated, his eyes flickering to look at something behind her head. Rose felt dizzy. She _hadn't_ heard him wrong. He was really asking her to go to the Ball with him!

"I'd love to," she blurted out breathlessly, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face. "I mean – yes, that would be lovely. Yes!"

"Great," Scorpius said. "Look, we can hash out the details later – I have to get some lunch before Albus and Pucey eat all of the good stuff. I'll see you around, Rose."

"Sure," she said, nodding. "Sure. Bye, Scorpius."

He flashed her that beautiful smile again. "Bye, Rose."

And with that, he left to join his friends at the Slytherin table. Rose watched his retreating back, dazed, until Genevieve grabbed her arm and jerked her harshly back to reality.

"What," hissed the other girl, her eyes wide, "was _that_?"

* * *

><p>Albus was in a good mood. Quidditch practice had gone better than expected – he'd even managed to tolerate that stupid prat, Alexander Zabini – and he was getting <em>really<em> good at the Sloth Grip Roll. And then to _further_ his good mood, they'd arrived at the castle for lunch and found that they were serving sausage rolls, his favourite.

So naturally, Albus assumed that it was going to be a good day. That is until he saw Portia Farley striding towards him, her eyes blazing and her face set with determination. Albus swallowed hard, dropping the sausage roll he was holding onto his plate. Beside him, Pucey looked up and then squeaked in alarm, though he tried to cover it up with a manly grunt.

"I'll see you later, Al," he said, scarpering before Portia reached them. He gathered up his lunch and fled the Great Hall, leaving Albus alone to face the blonde girl.

"Hi, Albus," Portia said, sliding into Pucey's newly vacated seat and running her gaze appreciatively over his form. Albus resisted the urge to cringe, thanking whoever designed Quidditch robes. At least he wasn't showing any skin. "How was Quidditch practice?"

"It was great," Albus said cautiously, taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

"That's good," Portia gushed, leaning forwards. "I wish you'd told me that you'd be practicing. I would've come to cheer you on."

Privately, Albus would have preferred if the giant squid had come to cheer him on, but he didn't say anything. He glanced desperately around the Great Hall, wondering if he could make some excuse to get away from Portia – and then his gaze alighted on two figures by the door, one very tall and dressed in Slytherin Quidditch robes, the other smaller and sporting a bouncing red ponytail. Scorpius and Rose? He frowned, wishing he could read lips. From the look on his cousin's face, they were discussing something that made her pretty happy – maybe Scorpius was asking her to the Ball?

For some reason, the thought made Albus's stomach clench. He frowned again, shrugging it off, and then realized with a jolt that Portia had been speaking the entire time.

"Sorry, Portia," he interrupted. "I missed that. What were you saying?"

Portia looked annoyed. "I said, I was thinking that we could–"

Scorpius suddenly appeared at Albus's side and took a seat beside him, offering the two a breathless, "Hi, guys." Portia's cheeks flamed, unhappy about being interrupted yet again. Albus, however, was more than happy to switch his focus to his best friend.

"What were you and Rose talking about?" he asked casually, nibbling on the end of a sausage roll. Scorpius shrugged.

"I was just asking her to go to the Ball with me," he said, helping himself to a few cheese sandwiches. "She said yes. Have you got a date yet, Al?"

"Actually," Portia butted in, "that's what I was just about to ask."

"Wait, you asked Rose to the Ball?" Albus said, his eyes growing wide. "What made you do _that_?" It occurred to him that he should be happy about this development – after all, Rose had wanted this, hadn't she? – but instead of feeling happy for his cousin, he just felt his stomach clench again.

"Well, _you_ were the one who suggested we bring dates this year," Scorpius pointed out, filling a goblet with pumpkin juice and taking a swig. "And Rose is one of the few girls in our year who don't make me want to kill myself – besides you, of course, Portia." He smiled charmingly at the blonde girl, who was seething from the lack of attention she was getting from Albus.

"Well, thank you, Scorpius," she said sarcastically, "really, I feel the love. Now, _Albus_, as I was saying–"

"Hold on," Albus interrupted, holding up a hand. He turned back to Scorpius. "I can't believe you didn't discuss this with me first! That's my cousin!"

Scorpius looked confused. "I didn't think you'd _care_," he said through a mouthful of bread. "You don't care, do you?"

Albus stiffened. Of course he didn't care. In fact, he was happy for them.

"Of course I don't care," he said, drawing himself to his full height. He drained the last few drops of his pumpkin juice and stood, ignoring Portia's pleas for him to wait. "I just remembered that I have a Charms essay to finish. I'll see you in the common room."

He left, his mind turning cartwheels. So Rose had gotten what she wanted and Scorpius had gotten a date – and that meant that Albus had to get a move on and ask someone to the Ball. It would probably be easier for him to just choose someone and get it over with quickly, instead of spending the weeks leading up to Halloween turning down girl after girl after girl.

He thought about this as he headed for the common room, mentally running through the list of fifth year girls that he got along with. Portia had been one of them, but she had clearly gone off the deep end, so she was out. Rose was of course his favourite girl from their year, but she was going with Scorpius, and she was also his cousin. He was still mulling over the list of possible candidates when he rounded a corner and ran into Genevieve Thomas.

"Oh!" she gasped, raising a hand to her mouth. "Sorry, Albus, I just left a book in the Great Hall and–"

"Don't worry about it," Albus smiled, waving away her apology.

"Um, OK," she replied, laughing. "Um. Bye."

Albus continued on his way, wracking his brain for more ideas about who to take to the Ball – and then it came to him. Why not take Genevieve? She was still in earshot, but she was hurrying away from him. It was now or never.

"Genevieve?" he called, prompting her to turn around and smile once more. "Do you want to go to the Halloween Ball with me?"

Genevieve turned, a smile spreading across her face.

"I'd love to!"

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><p><em>Fin. Of this chapter, that is :P Also, I FINALLY got onto Pottermore, and I was sorted into Hufflepuff. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I always imagined myself as a SlytherinRavenclaw. Or some combination of the two. A Slytherclaw. But oh well. If you're on Pottermore you should add me, my name is PatronusRain179 :) And let me know here if you did! HUFFLEPUFFS UNITE!_

**_P.S. (please read): _**_so I checked the story stats for Turning Tables and saw that this story has **1,169 total hits.** Wow. I mean really, wow. I think that's the most hits I've ever gotten on a story. So I want to thank anyone who's taken the time to read Turning Tables, and to ask you once again to please review so I can thank you properly :) It's great to see hits, but it's even better to see opinions (wow, I'm corny). So, sorry to be a review whore but **PLEASE** do leave a review if you have the time_

**_P.P.S.:_**_ seriously add me on Pottermore. I have no friends ;D_


	7. No Turning Back

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _ta-da, chapter seven! So I know I said the Halloween Ball would be in this chapter, but... it's not. They're getting ready for the Ball and they set off, but the **actual** Ball is next chapter ^_^ Thanks again for all of the reviews so far, and a big big BIG thank you to anyone who said they hope I'm feeling better. I am, thank you very much, and I should be getting surgery soon to fix my little problem. Until then I'll be cranking out chapters of Turning Tables as fast as I can :) Please review this chapter if you have the time, because the last chapter only got 5 reviews, and I know you guys can do better than that! :D Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: No Turning Back<strong>

Time seemed to speed up after Albus and Scorpius had secured their dates for the Halloween Ball. Classes seemed shorter, Quidditch practices were fewer, and even their homework seemed to take less time than it usually did. Albus attributed it to the shorter days and longer nights – Scorpius, on the other hand, was sure that time was passing by more quickly because he didn't want it to.

He had regretted asking Rose to the Ball almost immediately after the words left his mouth. It wasn't that he didn't like Rose – he liked her very much, actually – but he didn't care about her the way he should, and he didn't want to hurt her. Since asking her to the Ball, he'd been spending more and more time with her, and he'd grown to think of her as a good friend – on the other hand, he had also grown uncomfortably aware of her crush on him. It was a tangled web. He couldn't _not_ go to the Ball with Rose, but going with her would mean leading her on.

And Scorpius didn't want to do that.

He debated about what to do for weeks, until it was the day before the Halloween Ball and the decision was made for him – it was too late. Now it wasn't just about his lack of feelings for Rose. If he let her down now, she would have no-one to go to the Ball with. He was trapped.

The Halloween decorations in the castle provided a welcome distraction. Scorpius marvelled at the live bats in the Great Hall, the giant carved pumpkins lining the walls and hovering about the House tables. Halloween was one of Scorpius's favourite holidays and he'd always loved Halloween at Hogwarts. The feast was always impeccably prepared and mouth-wateringly delicious. Over the past few years he'd even enjoyed joking around with Albus at the Halloween Ball.

But things were going to be different this year. He knew it from the moment he woke up on the 31st of October to find Albus, Zabini, Jeffrey and Flint bickering and trying on dress robes.

"What's going on?" Scorpius said groggily, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Why are you wearing those?"

Albus looked up at the sound of his friend's voice and offered him a frazzled grin. "I was talking to Genevieve last night," he explained, "and she said that I should wear green to match my eyes. Only I don't _have_ any green dress robes, only blue and black."

"Okay," Scorpius said dumbly. "And why does Genevieve get to choose what you wear?"

Albus rolled his eyes. "So we don't clash," he said. "These three idiots are having similar problems."

"I'm going with Poppy Parkinson," Flint grunted, shimmying out of his wine coloured robes and tossing them in his trunk. "And she said I can't wear anything that will 'overshadow' her outfit. Whatever that means."

"Oh. And who are you two going with?" Scorpius asked, his eyes flickering to Zabini and Jeffrey.

"Callie," Jeffrey said absent-mindedly, picking at a thread on his robes. Callie Derek was Jeffrey's long-time girlfriend – Scorpius should have known. Still, he was curious about who Zabini was bringing. He looked at the dark-skinned Slytherin, who seemed to have finally decided on a pair of charcoal grey robes.

Zabini felt Scorpius's eyes on him. "It's none of your business who I'm going to the Ball with, Malfoy," he said, turning his back. "Flint. Come on." The two boys changed quickly and left the dormitory.

Scorpius slid out of bed with a yawn. He didn't think he'd have any problems with Rose concerning their outfits – compared to the other girls he knew, Rose was very low maintenance. He resolved to wear black, because it looked good on him and brought out the glow in his pale skin. He wasn't flashy, anyway. He didn't like coloured robes.

He dressed quickly and then waited for Albus to change into Quidditch robes. Although it was a Monday, they had a couple of days off from lessons in honour of Halloween – Flood wanted them to use the time to practice for their upcoming match against Gryffindor. The two boys made their way to the Great Hall, stomachs rumbling.

"First Hogsmeade visit this weekend," Albus said cheerfully, helping himself to a plate of eggs. "We're going, right, Scor?"

"Sure," Scorpius said, swallowing a mouthful of pumpkin juice. He loved Hogsmeade weekends – especially his customary trip to Honeydukes to stock up on Chocolate Frogs. He would never admit it to Albus, but it meant a lot that the dark-haired boy wanted to go with him. Scorpius had expected him to take Genevieve. The two were getting along awfully well these days.

As if he had conjured her, Scorpius spotted the curly-haired Ravenclaw enter the Great Hall, her arm entwined with Rose's. The two were giggling, their heads bent close together. As they passed the Slytherin table, Scorpius thought he overheard them comment on how "cute" he and Albus looked. He repressed a shudder and shovelled some sausage into his mouth, reminding himself that he just had to get through this one day and then everything could go back to normal.

"Malfoy! Potter!" barked a familiar voice. They looked around to find Amy Flood standing behind them, clad in Quidditch robes and wearing a thunderous expression on her face. "Enough girl-talk! We have a full day of practice ahead of us! Let's go!"

They followed her out of the Great Hall, spotting Pucey, Flint, Zabini and Tuckett getting up to join them. The weather was mild with minimal sunlight – perfect for practice. Scorpius got to work on the Wronski Feint. He'd been practicing for weeks and Flood had instructed him to perfect it by next week's match. He didn't think it would be a problem.

He was glad that Flood had organized a practice session for today – he didn't know what he would have done if he'd had to sit in the common room all day, thinking about the Ball. Practicing the Wronski Feint was surprisingly relaxing.

They practiced until darkness fell and then Flood dismissed them, giving them just enough time to shower and go to the Halloween Feast. The Ball would begin a few hours later at eight o'clock, giving the students – mostly the girls – enough time to clean up after dinner.

The feast was Scorpius's favourite part of Halloween at Hogwarts. There was always plenty of rich food, accompanied by sweets from Honeydukes and fresh pumpkin juice. Scorpius's mouth watered as he thought of the delicious treats waiting in the Great Hall. He showered quickly and then headed down to the Great Hall with Albus by his side.

It was already packed with students when they arrived. They made a beeline for the Slytherin table, grinning widely at the sight of the golden plates laden with food. Albus started with a chicken leg, while Scorpius helped himself to some roast beef. They talked with the other Slytherins as they ate, though Scorpius's mood dropped significantly when Brian Aldridge broached the subject of the Ball.

He just couldn't get away from the damn thing. He listened with dread as the Slytherin boys discussed their dates, and the Slytherin girls discussed their outfits. He briefly considered faking an illness to get out of it, but then he spotted Rose sitting at the Ravenclaw table, her face flushed and a wide smile hovering on her lips. He couldn't do that to her.

Scorpius sighed. He was just going to have to tough it out.

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><p>"And I was thinking that I should put my hair up," Genevieve babbled, pushing a few peas around her plate. "I mean, Albus looks like the kind of guy who likes a girl with an updo, right? It's sophisticated. He's a sophisticated kind of guy, right Rose?"<p>

"Oh yeah," Rose assured her, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "Er, I think so, anyway. What should I do with my hair?"

Genevieve sat back and scrutinized Rose's long fiery locks with pursed lips.

"Down," she said decisively, "but we'll need to make it look less... bushy."

Rose sighed. She may have inherited her dad's hair colour, but the texture and shape was entirely Granger. Still, it was nothing that a little magic couldn't fix.

"What colour are you wearing?" Genevieve went on. "I told Albus to wear green. Because he has those amazing green eyes, you know, and his hair is so dark that he'll look absolutely fabulous in green robes. Green has always suited me too, so it's perfect. We'll complement each other. I think we make a great couple, don't you, Rosie?"

"I'm wearing blue dress robes," Rose said, looking alarmed. "Are we supposed to match? Should I tell Scorpius to wear blue, too?"

"Oh no," Genevieve said, waving her hand. "Don't worry about that. I bet Scorpius will wear black and black goes with _everything_."

Mollified, Rose polished off the remains of her dinner. She and Genevieve left the feast earlier than usual, accompanied by their dorm-mates Alicia Bagnold, Isla McLaird and Millie Carmichael. The five girls were planning on getting ready together. Genevieve assured Rose that between the five of them, they would be able to come up with a way to tame Rose's mane of wild red hair.

When they got back to the dormitory, they split into groups – Genevieve and Millie began working on Rose's hair, while Alicia and Isla did each other's makeup.

"You're going with Scorpius Malfoy, aren't you, Rose?" Millie asked, tugging her fingers through Rose's hair.

"Yes, that's right," Rose replied, wincing a little as Millie's nails snagged on her tangles.

"You're lucky," Millie said, envy in her voice. "I'm going with Hermes Zusak. He's nice and all, but all he can talk about is Quidditch."

"And that's a bad thing?" Genevieve said playfully, producing a bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and squirting some into her palm. Genevieve was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and wouldn't hear a word against any of her team-mates, especially Hermes. "Hermes is the best captain we could ask for. You won't be whining about how much he talks about Quidditch when we win our first match."

This led to some good-natured bickering between Millie and Genevieve. Rose tuned them out, choosing instead to focus on Genevieve's fingers tugging the hair potion through her locks and imagining how much fun she would have with Scorpius at the Ball. She'd spent hours trying to decide what to wear and had eventually decided on a pair of midnight blue dress robes which brought out the blue in her eyes. She hoped that Scorpius would like them.

After an hour or so, the girls had managed to transform Rose from a bushy-haired schoolgirl into a blushing vision in blue, with sleek red hair and immaculate makeup.

"Scorpius is going to _die_ when he sees you," Genevieve promised her. With Rose taken care of, she turned her attention to her own primping, starting with her curly hair. Rose waited patiently for the other girls to finish getting ready. She figured it was the least she could do after they had helped her look so pretty.

And she _did_ look pretty. It was surprising, for Rose, who had never been considered one of the pretty girls. She wasn't ugly by any means, but she was definitely plain, especially when compared to some of the great beauties in Ravenclaw house. Genevieve, for one. With her caramel coloured skin and corkscrew curls, she was beautiful. Rose couldn't compare on a normal day, but now she felt almost as pretty as her friend.

Finally, the five Ravenclaw fifth year girls were ready to go. Genevieve looked stunning in shimmery gold dress robes. Isla had opted for a light pink which made her pale skin glow. Millie was wearing green, while Alicia had chosen a buttercup yellow. They all looked lovely – though Rose thought privately that she and Genevieve looked the best.

They had all arranged to meet their dates in the Entrance Hall, so they walked down together, chatting excitedly about the evening ahead. Rose's stomach began to flutter as they got closer – what if Scorpius didn't like her outfit? What if he didn't like _her_?

"There they are!" Isla said, nudging her in the side. "Wow... they all look... wow..."

Rose couldn't have agreed with her more. Standing at the bottom of the Grand Staircase were their dates for the evening – Scorpius, Albus, Hermes Zusak, Peter Strutton and Carl Redmond. They all looked absolutely fantastic. Albus had foregone Genevieve's instructions and worn smartly tailored black dress robes. Hermes was wearing black too, but his robes were a little shabbier than the other boys'. Peter had chosen to show his Ravenclaw pride and was wearing deep blue robes, while Carl wore pale grey.

But Rose's eyes were drawn to just one of the five boys – Scorpius, who was elegant in dress robes of deepest black. She took a deep breath and stepped towards him, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. She half-expected to wake up, to find that this had all been a dream – but then Scorpius was smiling at her and his grey eyes were lighting up.

He offered her his arm.

"Shall we?"

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><p><em>Next chapter: the Halloween Ball, an unexpected kiss and the beginning of an unfortunate lie... *dramatic music*<em>

_And remember, the more reviews, the faster I write! ;)_

_God. I'm a review whore. I shouldn't be allowed write author's notes._


	8. Tipping Point

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ):** _:O Gasp. Chapter 8. Here it is at last! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I've been really busy ^_^ I just want to address some things that some reviewers said. 1) Rose is getting annoying - yeah, that's kind of the point :P The idea is that she's this huge obstacle for Albus and Scorpius, because she's obviously Al's cousin but she's in love with Scorpius and yada-yada-yada. So if you find her annoying, that's a good thing. 2) Where is the A/S relationship? - well, let's just say here is where it all begins. I didn't want to rush into the whole thing because I want it to take time, but here's where the relationshippy stuff really begins. That's all I'll say :P Anyway, thanks once again to anyone who reads, favourites, story alerts etc. You guys all make my day ^_^_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Tipping Poin<strong>**t**

Scorpius's palms were sweating and his heart was thudding in his chest, but he tried to look calm and collected as he led Rose into the Great Hall. She was beaming, clearly delighted to be hanging off of his arm, and deep down a part of him wished that he could be as happy as she was. It would be so much easier, he thought, if he really liked Rose. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and Scorpius couldn't seem to take his eyes off Albus, who looked stunning in his dress robes.

The Great Hall had been suitably decorated for the occasion with live bats, giant pumpkins and various other Halloween related things. The staff table and four house tables had disappeared, replaced by one long table which was filled with refreshments. A band had been set up in the corner of the room and students were already dancing. Games had been set up in different parts of the Hall – bobbing for apples, skeleton hoop toss, pin the nose on the pumpkin. The games were usually frequented by the younger students, though Scorpius spotted James Potter and Blake Peabody at the skeleton hoop toss stand.

"Everything looks great this year," Rose said, looking around in awe. "Professor Orion really went all out with the decorations."

"Yeah," Scorpius replied absent-mindedly. He had intended for them to stick close to Albus and Genevieve, but somehow the four of them had gotten split up on their way into the Hall. He spotted them now by the refreshment table. Albus was ladling a cup of pumpkin juice for Genevieve, who was giggling and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Scorpius's stomach tied itself in a jealous knot. He looked away moodily, perking up slightly when he noticed Wyatt Jordan enter the Hall.

Wyatt was a sixth year in Gryffindor house, and he was well-known for his ability to smuggle "forbidden" objects into the castle. Scorpius had never needed to avail of Wyatt's particular talent, but when he glanced back at Albus and Genevieve he decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. He turned back to Rose and offered her a charming smile.

"Listen, Rose, I just need to talk to Wyatt. I'll be right back, OK?"

"Er – OK," Rose said, looking crestfallen. He ignored the twinge of guilt that he felt at the sight of her expression and made a beeline for Wyatt, who was chatting with Professor Longbottom.

Scorpius waited until the teacher had left and then sidled up to Wyatt.

"Hey, Wyatt," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. The other boy raised an eyebrow.

"Malfoy," he said coolly. "What do you want?" Scorpius didn't take his attitude personally – that was just how Wyatt treated people.

"I was hoping you could help me out," he replied, swallowing hard. "Uh, I need something to get me through this thing. Alcohol. I'm willing to pay."

"Firewhiskey, right?" Wyatt said, looking bored.

"How'd you know?"

"It's a big seller," the other boy said. "Six Galleons. Take it or leave it."

"Done," Scorpius said immediately, reaching into the pocket of his robes. He withdrew the money and pressed it furtively into Wyatt's hand. The Gryffindor tucked it away beneath his robes and then produced an unlabelled bottle through which no liquid was visible.

"Take it easy," he warned. "This is pretty strong stuff. And if any of the professors catch you with it, don't mention my name, Malfoy." And with that, he left to go talk to some Gryffindor girls.

Scorpius held up the bottle and considered it. He wasn't the type to get drunk – in fact, he'd only drank alcohol a few times before, and hadn't exactly been enamoured by the experience – but he knew that he wouldn't be able to spend the night with Rose, watching Albus have a good time with Genevieve, without a little liquid courage. With that in mind, he uncapped the bottle, raised it to his lips and swallowed deeply. He shuddered. The liquid burned the back of his throat and sent heat rushing through his chest and into his stomach. It tasted awful... though the sudden fire in his veins was a welcome change. He wiped his lips, tucked the bottle into his robes and headed in Rose's direction.

She was hovering by the refreshment table, near Genevieve and Albus, but also very much alone. There was something awkward in the way she stood, as if she wasn't quite sure if she should join them or not. She looked relieved when he approached.

"Was everything OK with Wyatt?" she asked. She sounded sincere, but her blue eyes were suspicious. Most of the students knew about Wyatt's reputation, and Rose was no exception. Scorpius smiled at her.

"Yeah," he said breezily, the weight of the bottle in his pocket a reassuring reminder that he could get through this one night. "Perfect, actually. Do you want to dance?"

He led her onto the dance floor and they twirled in time to the music.

_This isn't so bad,_ Scorpius thought. _I can do this_. He felt obliged to dance with Rose for a half hour or so and then they checked out some of the games. After losing to Rose at skeleton hoop toss, Scorpius excused himself for a bathroom break – or, more accurately, a Firewhiskey break. He ducked into the boy's bathroom and took a few swigs from the bottle, feeling his head grow fuzzier and his inhibitions lower with each swallow. It was a nice feeling, to be brave for once. He felt like it would be OK to let loose.

He almost felt like a Gryffindor.

When he returned to the Hall, he found Rose standing with a very irritated Genevieve. Upon spotting him, the Ravenclaw rounded on him, her dark eyes wide.

"Where is he?" she demanded, folding her arms.

"Er – sorry?" Scorpius replied, blinking. He was feeling quite lightheaded and was beginning to wonder if drinking all of that Firewhiskey had been a good idea.

"Albus," Genevieve snapped impatiently. "He said he was going to talk to you but that was almost an hour ago, and he hasn't come back. He's not in the Hall, so where is he?"

"I dunno," Scorpius shrugged. "I've been with Rose the entire time – _hic_." He coughed in an effort to disguise the hiccup, but the two girls' eyes narrowed.

"Well, where _would_ he be?" Genevieve said, throwing her hands up. "You're his best friend. Where does he normally go?"

"I dunno," Scorpius repeated. He was starting to get a little irritated by Genevieve's constant questioning. He had a feeling that she wasn't going to leave him alone unless he produced Albus from the pocket of his robes, so with a sigh, he offered to go look for him.

"That would be great, Scorpius," Genevieve said, switching from angry, abandoned girlfriend to grateful schoolgirl in a heartbeat. "You're the best! I'll keep Rose company while you're gone, don't you worry!" She beamed at him and then went to fetch some pumpkin juice, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone.

"Thank you for doing this," Rose said, looking at Scorpius from beneath her lashes. "I mean, she wouldn't have shut up about it if you hadn't. It's... it's really sweet of you." And then, blushing furiously, she leaned up to touch her lips to his.

Scorpius's first instinct was to pull away, but luckily his brain kicked in just in time. If he were to pull away from Rose now, he would publicly embarrass her. Albus wouldn't be too pleased with him if he humiliated his cousin in front of the whole school. So instead he just stood there, motionless, while Rose tried to drag a reaction from him. When she finally pulled back, her cheeks were the same colour as her hair and her lips were stretched in a wide grin. She didn't seem to realize that he hadn't enjoyed the kiss nearly as much as she had.

"I'll see you when you're back," she said shyly, flitting over to the refreshment table to join Genevieve. Scorpius resisted the urge to wipe his lips and exited the Hall.

He searched half-heartedly for Albus, knowing that if his friend didn't want to be found, then he wouldn't find him. He couldn't imagine why Albus had ditched Genevieve – the two had seemed to be having a relatively good time. At least, they'd been laughing a lot, and Genevieve was doing that hair-twirling thing that girls did when they were interested in someone.

He had looked into five classrooms before deciding to give up. He was too full of Firewhiskey to care about what Genevieve would say when he returned to the Great Hall empty-handed – all he wanted to do was say goodnight to Rose, return to the dormitory and crawl into his emerald four-poster.

He was on his way back to the Great Hall, humming under his breath when a door opened and a hand reached out to grab him. The person dragged him into a pitch black closet. Scorpius shrieked, but a hand clapped over his mouth, muffling the sound. He thrashed and kicked in a panic, wondering who had grabbed him and what they were going to do to him, but the Firewhiskey had seriously dampened his ability to protect himself. He was about to bite his assailant's fingers when a familiar exasperated voice said, "Oh, stop struggling, you sissy."

"Albus?" Scorpius said incredulously, his voice muffled by Albus's fingers. "Where are you? Why is it so dark in here?"

Albus released him and muttered, "_Lumos_." The tip of his wand ignited and Scorpius could see his friend, wearing his trademark cheeky grin.

"Why did you leave the Ball?" Scorpius asked, frowning. "Genevieve's looking for you and she's really – wait. Why are you in a closet?"

Albus's eyes narrowed. "I'm hiding," he said solemnly. "From Genevieve. She's crazy."

"Crazy?"

"Crazy," Albus agreed, nodding. "She's absolutely mental, Scor. She's been throwing herself at me all night. Dancing all crazy, making creepy offers that I don't want to repeat lest I scar your innocent virgin mind. I'm telling you, the girl is crazy."

"Oh," Scorpius said, blinking, choosing to ignore the comment about his 'innocent virgin mind'. "Alright then. I thought you liked her." His head was starting to feel even fuzzier than before – the Firewhiskey was certainly taking its toll on him. He stared right at Albus's eyes as he spoke, entranced by their blazing green.

"Like her?" Albus said, sounding revolted. "I mean – sure, I like her. As a friend. But she's not my type."

"Oh," Scorpius said again. "What is your type?"

"I... don't know," Albus replied unsurely. "The opposite of Genevieve, I guess."

Scorpius thought about that for a moment. He didn't think that Genevieve was crazy, but she was definitely _very_ loud. And very demanding. And very... girly. Yes, he decided, that was Genevieve's biggest flaw. She was a girl, with stupid cherry scented hair and stupid curvy hips, and a stupid oversized chest that made her think she could control every boy she met. Of course Albus wouldn't like her. He needed someone the exact opposite of Genevieve in every way possible.

_He needs someone like me_, Scorpius decided. _I'm quiet. I don't ask him to do things much – I'm not a demanding kind of guy. Right? I could be good for Albus. I'm the opposite of Genevieve. I'm not like her. I'm like me. Maybe Albus could like me._

"Al," Scorpius whispered, half-closing his eyes. "I'm quiet, right?"

"Sure, I guess."

"And – and I'm not demanding," he said, his heartbeat picking up. He took a deep breath and shuffled closer to Albus, though the other boy didn't seem to notice.

"'Course not, Scor."

"And I'm not like Genevieve."

"Merlin, no," Albus said, sounding horrified at the very idea.

"OK," Scorpius whispered, leaning in even closer. Before Albus could do anything, Scorpius connected their mouths, effectively cutting off any reply that the other boy had been about to make. Scorpius reached up and framed Albus's face clumsily with his hands, running his thumbs along Al's cheekbones. He waited for Albus to pull away or hit him or _scream_ – but to his surprise and delight, he did none of those things. Instead, Albus began to kiss him back.

And it was wonderful. This was what a kiss was supposed to be – not the awkward mishmash of lips that Scorpius had shared with Rose. This was how it was meant to be, two people connecting, their mouths melding together and becoming one. Scorpius couldn't help himself. He smiled against Albus's lips and threaded his fingers through the other boy's thick, dark hair, hardly able to believe that he was finally kissing Albus Potter.

They pulled apart after a few moments and said nothing, simply staring each other in the eyes, before lunging for one another again. This kiss was different from the first – it was more urgent, somehow, more of a mess of lips and tongue and _teeth_ and Scorpius couldn't quite believe that it was real, but if it was a dream then he never wanted to wake up. Albus's hands were everywhere, running along Scorpius's arms, stroking his cheeks, clutching at his hips. Scorpius could think of nothing but Albus's lips on his and how _warm_ his body felt as he pressed him against the wall.

Finally, the need for oxygen became too much, and they broke away from each other with harsh gasps. Scorpius's face was red and his lips were bruised – one look at Albus revealed him to be equally dishevelled.

"Al," Scorpius said, a little uncertain.

"Yeah?" Albus said, his breath ragged. His eyes were fixed firmly on Scorpius's lips, as if he couldn't wait to kiss them again. Scorpius couldn't help it – he leaned forward and kissed Albus again, before pulling back and blurting out his confession before he could chicken out.

"Al, I'm in love with you."

He lowered his gaze to the floor, unable to look Albus in the eye. He could practically feel Albus's entire body go stiff. The atmosphere in the tiny room had changed completely and a tense silence settled over the two boys. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Albus spoke.

"Oh."

Scorpius felt a stab of anger. "Oh?" he repeated, his eyes darting back to Albus's. "Is that all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Albus said, his expression unreadable.

"I don't know," Scorpius replied in frustration. "Merlin's beard, we just made out in a _closet_, Albus! Maybe you could tell me that you have feelings for me, too?"

Albus didn't say anything. Scorpius's heart sank.

"Or... was that just convenient for you?" he said, his voice cracking a little. "Because Genevieve's too 'crazy' to get you off? So you just decided that since I'm around, you can use me instead?"

"You were the one who kissed me, Scor," Albus reminded him quietly.

"Don't call me that," Scorpius hissed. "And I may have been the one who made the first move, but you _kissed me back_."

"Please don't make a big deal out of this, Scorpius–"

"It _is_ a bloody big deal!" Scorpius shouted, kicking a nearby bucket. "Don't you get it, you stupid prat? I'm in love with you! You're the first thing I think about every morning and the last thing I think about every night! I can't look at you without wanting to kiss you. I can't talk to you without wondering what it would be like to _be_ with you. Do you know how hard it is for me, watching girls like Genevieve throw themselves at you? Before tonight I could deal with my feelings for you because I knew you were straight, so you'd never look at me anyway, but now that I know–"

"Now that you know what?" Albus interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

"That you're not straight," Scorpius replied, seemingly caught off guard.

"Who said I'm not straight?"

"Straight guys don't make out with their _male_ best friend in a closet!"

Once again, silence took hold. Albus leaned against the doorframe, closing his eyes. Scorpius stared moodily at the floor, unwilling to be the first to speak. Eventually, Albus sighed.

"I should get back to the Ball," he said in a monotone. "I can't keep Genevieve waiting."

"Whatever," Scorpius said bitterly, though a lump rose in his throat at the thought of Albus going back to Genevieve's side. He wished that he could go back to a few minutes before, when he'd had Albus in his arms and everything had been OK.

Albus opened the door, though he paused before leaving. He looked back at Scorpius hesitantly. "I'll see you in the dormitory?"

"Whatever," the other boy repeated. After a long pause, Albus left.

It was only when he was sure that Albus was gone that Scorpius allowed himself to cry.

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><p><em>It took me a long time to write this, then I deleted it all and banged this version out in 45 minutes. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing... Anyway, please review! :)<em>

_Next chapter: the aftermath of the Halloween Ball brings about a new Hogwarts couple, a protective big brother and a girl with a grudge!_


	9. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _what's this? A ridiculously fast update? Why yes, yes it is. Hope you enjoy the chapter and please remember to leave a review if you can!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Aftermat<strong>**h**

Albus made his way to the Great Hall, trying to ignore the mess of thoughts swirling around his head. He couldn't get the image of Scorpius's face during their argument out of his mind – he kept seeing the hurt flash through Scorpius's eyes, the downturn of his lips when Albus rejected him. He didn't want to deal with the way those thoughts made him feel. He didn't want to deal with Scorpius's feelings for him – not now, not tonight. He needed to do something simple and easy, something to take his mind off of the drama which had just occurred.

He needed to go and find Genevieve and dance with her, because although he had meant everything he said to Scorpius, Genevieve was a sweet girl. But more than that, she was a distraction, crazy or not.

When he arrived back at the Great Hall, he scanned the crowd for Genevieve. His search didn't reveal the Ravenclaw, but he did spot Darren Pucey twirling on the spot with Hestia Aarons, and Alexander Zabini standing by the refreshment table with an irritable Portia Farley. Albus suppressed a giggle as he remembered Zabini's reluctance to tell the other Slytherins the identity of his date. He definitely didn't envy the other boy – Portia looked fit to kill something.

He found Genevieve a few minutes later. She and Rose were dancing together – if it could be called dancing. Really they were just throwing their arms about the place and shaking their hips, but at least they were having fun. Albus sidled up to Genevieve and tapped her on the shoulder, offering up a sheepish grin when she glared at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded.

"And where's Scorpius?" Rose cut in, looking around the Hall and biting her lip.

"Shut up, Rose," Genevieve said fondly, before rounding on Albus once more. "Do you realize how long you left me alone for? You told me you were going to talk to Scorpius and then you just disappeared – so, where were you? I know you weren't with Scorpius, because he was here with Rose until a little while ago."

"I apologize," Albus said, turning on the charm and smiling at Genevieve. "I shouldn't have left you alone. But I'm here now. Would you like to dance?"

And that, it seemed, was all it took. Genevieve practically turned to a puddle of goo beneath the force of Albus's megawatt smile and she allowed him to take her arm and lead her away from Rose, who bleated after them, "But where's Scorpius?"

That was a question that Albus really didn't want to answer. Instead, he concentrated on twirling Genevieve around the dance floor, making her giggle, fetching her cups of pumpkin juice – all the stuff that a boy was supposed to do when he took a girl to a school dance. By the end of the evening, Genevieve seemed to have forgotten all about how Albus had disappeared.

He walked her back to Ravenclaw Tower, trying desperately to delay his return to the Slytherin common room. He didn't want to have to face Scorpius just yet. He needed time to collect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say. It was a delicate situation, after all, and he would have to approach it carefully if he didn't want to lose Scorpius as a friend.

Genevieve chattered non-stop until they reached the Ravenclaw common room, and then she turned to Albus with an uncharacteristically nervous smile.

"Thank you for tonight," she said. "I had a great time."

"So did I," Albus replied, and he was surprised to find that he actually meant it. Sure, Genevieve had been acting a little weird at the beginning of the evening, but after the incident with Scorpius she'd been downright fun to hang out with. Besides, she had helped him take his mind off the sheer weirdness that came with having your best friend snog you and then confess his love for you.

"Do you think maybe... um, we could do this again?" Genevieve said, lowering her eyes and nibbling on her lip. Albus blinked.

He'd never had a girlfriend before. Sure, girls flirted with him a lot, but that was just because he was Albus Potter, the kid with the famous parents. It had happened to James, too, and it would probably happen to Lily – though he didn't want to think about _anyone_ throwing themselves at his little sister. Albus had never really been interested in any of the girls who wanted to be with him.

An unwelcome thought flitted into his mind – _maybe Scorpius is right._

Albus pushed it away. Of course Scorpius wasn't right. Albus wasn't gay. He suddenly realized that Genevieve was still waiting for an answer. He hesitated and then leaned forward to kiss her quickly on the lips. When he looked at her again, she was beaming, and her dark cheeks were tinged with red.

"Oh, wow," she said, unable to stop smiling. "Wow. Is that a yes?"

Albus grinned at her and leaned in to capture her lips once more. Genevieve responded immediately, threading her arms around Albus's neck and anchoring him to her body. He placed his hands on her waist, a little uncertain about where he was supposed to put them.

Kissing Genevieve was a nice feeling. It didn't make fire shoot through his veins like when he'd kissed Scorpius – _stop it_, Albus scolded himself. _You are not gay, Albus Severus Potter. You can't be._

Things were getting a little more heated – Genevieve's hands were roaming all over Albus's body and his had slipped beneath her waist – when there were footsteps behind them. Then, a very familiar voice sounded in their ears.

"Oh!"

Albus pulled away from Genevieve, their lips detaching with a sort of popping sound, to find Rose standing behind them, scarlet-faced.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, covering her eyes with one hand. "I – I didn't see anything! I'm just going to go into the common room! I'm sorry!" She hurried toward the door and disappeared, leaving Albus and Genevieve alone. Genevieve immediately dissolved into giggles.

"Oh, she's going to be panicking about that for weeks," she laughed, grabbing Albus's hand. "That's brilliant."

"Poor Rose," Albus said, pursing his lips thoughtfully. First her date had turned out to be gay, and then she'd walked in on her best friend snogging her cousin. "I guess tonight's just not her night."

"So we got a little sidetracked there," Genevieve said coyly, looking up at Albus from beneath her lashes and choosing to abandon the subject of Rose. "And you never answered my question. Can we do this again sometime?"

Albus thought for a moment. "Genevieve," he said, affecting his most charming voice and smiling at her. "Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

Her reaction was a loud squeal and an immediate confirmation. Albus told her that they would discuss it before the end of the week, gave her a goodnight kiss and then retreated down the spiral staircase, all the while trying to ignore the guilt coiling in his stomach. He was supposed to be going to Hogsmeade with Scorpius. He highly doubted that that was going to happen now.

When he returned to the Slytherin common room, he found a few of the Slytherin boys sitting around the fire, discussing the events of the Ball. Scorpius was nowhere to be found. Albus paused for a moment to chat to the other boys and then headed for the dormitory, his heart thudding.

He needn't have worried about Scorpius confronting him – the blond boy was fast asleep, curled beneath the emerald sheets. His hair fanned across the pillow, making him look younger than he actually was. Albus paused for a moment and surveyed him, his eyes automatically drawn to Scorpius's pink lips. Thinking about them made Albus blush. He shook his head firmly, undressed and climbed into bed. From the bed beside him, he heard Scorpius sigh.

Albus lay down, trying to ignore the troubled thoughts that attacked his mind. Scorpius would come around eventually, he was sure. And then he would be happy for Albus and Genevieve.

He had to be.

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><p>Scorpius woke the next morning with a splitting headache, a dry mouth, and the nagging feeling that he had done something unforgivable the night before.<p>

The dormitory was empty, each bed neatly made. Scorpius frowned and glanced at his watch – eleven thirty. All of the other boys were probably in the Great Hall eating a late breakfast, making use of the day off from lessons. He slid out of bed and winced, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. His head was pounding. He saw an empty, unlabelled bottle on the floor beside his bed and groaned, remembering the sharp, acidic burn of the Firewhiskey as it travelled down his throat.

Merlin, that had been a stupid idea.

He couldn't remember the events of the night before very clearly, though he did remember kissing someone in a dark closet. Rose? No, not Rose... the lips had been soft, but not like a girl's, and besides, Rose had long hair. Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking long and hard on who it could have been – and then he straightened up with a curse.

"Albus," he groaned, burying his head in his hands. "Oh, Merlin's beard, I snogged _Albus_."

It was as if he'd opened floodgates – the memories of the night before came rushing back all at once, jostling each other in his mind until it was just a blur of images. Genevieve, demanding to know where Albus was. Rose, pecking him on the lips before he went to search for his best friend. Albus dragging him into the closet, Albus talking about Genevieve, Albus calling him 'Scor'. Albus's lips, Albus's hands on Scorpius's hips, his breath ghosting across Scorpius's cheeks.

It was just Albus, Albus, Albus. And it wasn't the fairytale ending he had imagined for them, because he remembered all too soon how their tryst had ended – with Albus returning to Genevieve's side, leaving Scorpius to cry in the closet.

"Shit," Scorpius muttered. "_Shit_."

He stood and stared around the room helplessly for a few minutes before shaking his head. He smoothed down the sheets of his four-poster and dressed quickly. There was nothing to do, he supposed, but go to breakfast and hope that things wouldn't be awkward with Albus. He made his way to the Great Hall with a knot in his stomach, half-afraid that his friend would ignore him.

When he got to the Great Hall, he found it half-empty. Some of his fellow Slytherins were still eating breakfast, but Albus was nowhere to be found. Scorpius sighed and took a seat beside Darren Pucey, who was telling anyone who would listen about how Hestia Aarons had kissed him after the Ball. Scorpius pushed some bacon moodily around his plate, irrationally angry at Pucey because his night had turned out the way he wanted it to and Scorpius's hadn't.

"So we're going to Hogsmeade together this Saturday," Pucey finished, grinning stupidly. Scorpius's mood lifted a little at the thought of Hogsmeade – he and Albus were going together, after all. Maybe he could use the trip as a way to smooth out any awkwardness left over from their encounter in the closet.

"That's great," Scorpius said absent-mindedly, realizing suddenly that Pucey was waiting for a reply. The other boy practically glowed.

"Isn't it?" he beamed. "And she said she's going to cheer us on at the match next week!"

"Mm hmm," Scorpius said, scanning the Hall with boredom. He half-hoped that Albus would come barrelling through the doors – even _Genevieve _would have been a welcome arrival. He just wanted to see one of his friends and make sure he hadn't entirely alienated them all the night before.

"So how did your night turn out?" Pucey asked, elbowing Scorpius in the side. "With Rose?"

Scorpius winced. He didn't think Rose would be too pleased with him for abandoning her the night before – oddly enough though, he couldn't manage to feel guilty about it. He didn't feel guilty about making out with her cousin, either. He wondered vaguely if that meant he was a bad person, and then decided he'd better answer Pucey's question before he jumped to conclusions.

"It was alright," he lied, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I mean, I wasn't feeling well so I skipped out on her before the Ball ended, but we were having a pretty good time. I just hope she's not mad at me."

He meant that sincerely – while he may not have felt as guilty as he should have for what he'd done to Rose, Scorpius still didn't want to hurt her. He hoped that she would be able to forgive him for the night before.

"I think she's got more on her mind than you ditching her at the Ball, somehow," Portia Farley said darkly, sliding into the free space beside Scorpius. "Didn't you hear about what happened outside the Ravenclaw common room?"

Scorpius straightened up, wondering if Rose had been hurt.

"What happened?" he asked.

Portia narrowed her eyes. "Rose caught Albus and Genevieve kissing outside the door," she said, stabbing angrily at her breakfast. "Genevieve was telling everybody about it this morning. Apparently they were getting _really_ hot and heavy when Rose interrupted them."

Scorpius's heart missed a beat. "That's just a rumour," he said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

"That's what I said," Portia agreed. "Until _I_ walked in on them in the library this morning." She sounded furious – Scorpius remembered that Portia had a borderline-creepy crush on Albus.

"Wow," Pucey said, shaking his head. "So I guess they're together now?"

"Not for long," Portia muttered. The two boys chose to ignore her.

Scorpius pushed his plate away, his appetite suddenly evaporating. He thought again about his encounter with Albus the night before and wondered how his friend could slip so easily from his fingers. Albus had said that Genevieve was crazy – had Scorpius's out of the blue confession sent him running into her all too willing arms? He couldn't bear the thought that he had been the one to bring them together.

Maybe it wasn't a rumour, but it was definitely a lie, Scorpius decided. He had felt something when he had kissed Albus – something that he _couldn't_ have felt if Albus didn't have _some_ sort of feelings for him. And he'd meant what he'd said the night before. Straight guys didn't kiss their best friends. Albus was gay, Scorpius was sure of it.

So why was he with Genevieve?

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><p><em>I listened to my Taylor Swift playlist on repeat while writing this. Just thought you'd like to know.<em>

**_Please leave a review if you can :) _**_Cookies, chocolate and Starkid hugs for anyone who does :)_


	10. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _*drumroll* ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you... Chapter 10! This chapter was ridiculously hard for me to write. I needed to have all of these scenes and all of this dialogue and it was just so awkward because I'm much better at writing short chapters than long chapters. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, but I'm anxious to see if you guys are too :P Even if you don't like it though, at least it furthers the plot a little. So without further ado, here is the chapter, I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review if you can!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Jealousy<strong>

The first Hogsmeade visit of the year took place the Saturday after Halloween, and to say that the students were excited would be an understatement. Everyone in third year and above was itching to get out of the castle for a while. Lily Potter was among the most eager, mostly because this would be her first visit to the village. Albus approached the Gryffindor table on the morning of the Hogsmeade visit and found Lily chatting excitedly with their cousin Hugo.

"I can't wait to get to Honeydukes," she said gleefully, her eyes alight with anticipation. "James said that they have barrels of sweets that are taller than me!"

"Twice your size," James cut in, spying Albus and grinning. "Right, Al?"

"That's right," Albus nodded, squeezing himself between Lily and Hugo. "Filled with Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizbees and Pepper Imps. All your favourites, Lily."

Her eyes were round. "Wow," she whispered, looking pleased. "I'm going there _first_."

"A wise choice, little sister," James said, nodding solemnly. "You have to get there early to get the good stuff."

"Where are you going, James?" Hugo asked, looking up at James with wide eyes. Hugo had always idolized James. Albus found it highly entertaining.

"Weasley's, of course," James said, biting into a piece of toast with relish. "I have to make good use of my family discount, don't I?" Hugo and Lily laughed while Albus and James shared a knowing grin. Their favourite place to shop was Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the popular joke shop chain owned by none other than their uncle George. Whenever there was a Hogsmeade visit, James and Albus made sure to stock up on supplies.

"Make sure you say hi to uncle George for me," Albus said, reaching out and grabbing a piece of bacon from Lily's plate. James dropped his toast and swore loudly, prompting gasps and giggles from Lily and Hugo.

"You're not coming?" James demanded. "Why not?"

Albus sighed. The truth was, he would have loved to go to Hogsmeade with James. In fact, he would have loved if the entire visit could be the way it always was – spending hours in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with James and Scorpius, stopping in for a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, emptying their moneybags in Honeydukes. Unfortunately, Albus had made the rather rash decision of inviting Genevieve to go to the village with him – and since she was sort of his girlfriend now, there was no way that he could get out of it.

"Genevieve probably won't want to tag along with my big brother," Albus said, avoiding James's eyes.

"Oh, of course," James said, his tone changing and his eyes glittering dangerously. "I forgot. You're going with _Genevieve_."

Albus squared his shoulders defensively. "And?"

"Nothing," James shrugged. "I suppose you'll be spending the day in Madam Puddifoot's?"

Albus felt his face grow red. "I don't see how it's any of your business," he said hotly, sliding off the bench. Lily and Hugo had fallen silent and were watching James and Albus with bated breath. "I'll see you later. Have fun, Lily. You too, Hugo."

He strode toward the Slytherin table, fuming. He should have known that James would be annoyed. After all, their visits to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had been a tradition since Albus had been a third year. Even so, Albus didn't think he deserved his brother's sarcasm. James had always been a snarky type of person, but over the past week, more and more of his barbed comments had been directed at Albus. Al wasn't stupid. He knew it was because of Genevieve. He just didn't understand _why_ James was so disapproving of her, though.

Then again, James hadn't been the only one to have a negative reaction to Albus's new... relationship. Lily had been positively outraged, but at least she had kept her opinions to herself – after an initial outburst, of course. And then there was Scorpius.

Albus had expected Scorpius to be furious or jealous, but he hardly seemed to care. If he did, then he was a _very_ good actor, because on the outside, he was perfectly calm and composed. Albus could see him now, seated beside Darren Pucey, chatting amiably. Albus was suddenly overcome by a strong urge to join them and have everything like it had been the week before, when Pucey had been panicking about the Ball and Albus hadn't known that Scorpius liked him.

He was just making his move when he felt a pair of slim arms wrap around his waist and a sharp, pointed chin digging into his shoulder. The familiar scent of cherry shampoo assailed him and he turned, meeting Genevieve's twinkling eyes with a smile.

"Good morning," she said, leaning forward to place a kiss on his lips. Albus kissed her back and then pulled away, noting with a frown that James was glaring at them from the Gryffindor table.

_What is his _problem_?_ Albus wondered.

"We should go," Genevieve said, tugging on his arm. "Everybody else is lining up in the Entrance Hall." Sure enough, the other students were leaving their spots at the house tables and going to the Entrance Hall, where Professor Longbottom would see them off to the village. Albus reached down to take Genevieve's hand and led her out of the Great Hall.

Students were milling about the Entrance Hall, talking excitedly and counting their money. Albus spotted Lily and Hugo with a crowd of third years, and James standing with his friends Wyatt and Blake. Albus studiously avoided James's gaze and tightened his grip on Genevieve's hand.

Albus's mind was whirring during the short walk to Hogsmeade. He jumped randomly from one thought to another – Genevieve, James, Scorpius. Each one of them had a question mark over their name. Each one came with questions that Albus didn't want to answer. He was finally provided with a distraction when he and Genevieve arrived in Hogsmeade, and she immediately tugged him over to the Post Office.

"I have to send an owl to my parents," she explained. "I don't have one of my own."

He admired the owls while Genevieve made her transaction. When she was finished, they headed for Scrivenshaft's to stock up on quills. They wandered from shop to shop, holding hands. Albus thought that it was pleasant, if a little boring. Genevieve didn't joke around like James, and she wasn't funny like Scorpius, but she was fun to talk to and she didn't argue with him like Rose did.

Overall, the morning was turning out better than he'd thought it would.

He spotted familiar faces as he and Genevieve moved from shop to shop – Lily and Hugo in Honeydukes, looking happier than he'd ever seen them, Rose in Potage's Cauldron Shop, admiring a self-stirring cauldron, Scorpius and Pucey in Dervish and Banges getting a Sneakoscope repaired. He studiously avoided Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, afraid of running into James.

It was just past one o'clock when Genevieve squealed and grabbed Albus's arm, pointing in the direction of a small store with gaudy, frilly decorations in the window and a hanging sign which read _Madam Puddifoot's._

"Let's get a coffee," Genevieve said, looking up at Albus with big brown eyes.

"Wouldn't you prefer a Butterbeer? We could go to the Three Broomsticks," Albus said, eyeing Madam Puddifoot's with distaste. His dad had told him a story about a disastrous date he'd once had in the tea shop, and Albus didn't have any desire to follow in his father's footsteps. He didn't like coffee, anyway. He would much rather go to the Three Broomsticks and order a foaming mug of hot Butterbeer.

"But the Three Broomsticks is always so _crowded_," Genevieve pouted, inching closer to him. "Madam Puddifoot's is much cosier... and quieter... and more romantic." She leaned up and nipped at his ear. Albus started slightly and stepped away from her, suddenly very aware that they were on a crowded street in the middle of Hogsmeade.

"Alright," he hissed, "just don't do that again."

She squealed and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door. Albus looked around furtively, hoping that no-one had spotted them. He would never live it down if James found out that he'd gone to Madam Puddifoot's.

The interior of the shop was decorated in harsh pinks, purples and whites. Albus looked at it in horror. It looked like Lily's bedroom back at home – entirely too frilly and girly for words. Genevieve gave a little sigh and tugged him over to a table by the window. A lacy white cloth covered the table. Albus lifted it gingerly between his thumb and his forefinger, wondering who Madam Puddifoot had hired to decorate her shop. He hoped that she hadn't paid them, whoever they were.

A pink menu stood in the centre of the table, edged with gold and with curly, undecipherable lettering. Genevieve scanned it quickly and then motioned for the waitress, who wandered over with a bored look in her eye.

"We'll have two coffees," Genevieve said, "and two slices of chocolate gateaux, please." The waitress nodded, snapped her gum and disappeared.

Albus drummed his fingers on the table and looked out the window while Genevieve chattered away about Madam Puddifoot's chocolate gateaux. A heavy rain had started to pound against the glass pane. He spotted Scorpius and Pucey running past the window, accompanied, surprisingly enough, by James. His chest tightened at the sight of the three boys, running through the rain towards the Three Broomsticks. He had a sudden desire to stand, leave Madam Puddifoot's and race after them, but the coffee had arrived and Genevieve was urging him to try the chocolate cake. There was nothing he could do.

* * *

><p>The rain began as Scorpius and Pucey were leaving Honeydukes – they'd been stocking up on Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizbees, just like they did every time they visited the village. They had spent longer in the shop than they'd planned, amused at Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley's utter fascination with the store. By the time they'd gotten tired of watching Lily and Hugo exclaim over the sweets, the sky had opened up.<p>

"Where do you want to go?" Pucey asked, hiking his robes up to cover his head. "The Hog's Head? The Three Broomsticks? Or we could go back inside and eat until the rain clears up."

Scorpius shook his head. "The Three Broomsticks," he said, raising his voice to combat the increasing rain. He started for the pub, Pucey by his side. A moment later, James Potter appeared beside them. James raised his hands to his mouth and cupped them.

"Butterbeer?" he shouted. His words were almost lost among the wind that had whipped up, but Scorpius heard. He nodded and the three boys broke into a run, heading for the safe warmth of the inn.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded when they arrived – apparently they were not the only Hogwarts students seeking shelter from the rain. Pucey spotted Hestia Aarons at a table in the middle of the room with her friends and muttered something that sounded like, "Be right back." Hestia and Pucey had spent the first few hours of the trip together and then split off with their friends – clearly, Pucey hadn't had enough of her company.

James volunteered to get the drinks and Scorpius went to find a table. He managed to snag one in a cosy corner and drummed his fingers on the table while he waited for James to return. After a few minutes, the dark-haired boy reappeared with two foaming tankards of hot Butterbeer. He slid one over to Scorpius and then took a deep drag from his own mug, letting out a satisfied groan as it touched his lips.

"There's nothing like a hot Butterbeer in the middle of a storm," James said appreciatively, smacking his lips.

Scorpius made a noise of agreements and sipped at his own drink. "Where's Pucey?"

James rolled his eyes. "He's busy," he said, jerking his head in Hestia's direction. Pucey had his arm wrapped around the fourth year's shoulder and he was whispering in her ear. "I don't think he'll be joining us."

"_Girls_," Scorpius said, mimicking James and rolling his eyes. He lifted his tankard to his lips once more and drank deeply, wondering if Albus and Genevieve were locked in a similar position. He felt queasy thinking about it.

"Girls," James agreed, his eyes flickering to Scorpius's. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, right, Scorpius?"

The blond blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Just that you're in love with my brother," James said casually. Scorpius's eyes widened and he choked on his Butterbeer. James leaned across the table and banged him harshly on the back. He waited for Scorpius to compose himself before shooting him an angelic smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scorpius lied, avoiding James's eyes. He could feel his cheeks growing red and hoped that James wouldn't notice.

James laughed. "Don't deny it," he said, wagging his finger in Scorpius's direction. Scorpius opened his mouth, ready to deny it for all he was worth – and then something stopped him. He deflated slightly and wrapped his hands around his tankard, trying to absorb some of the warmth from the drink. He let out a miserable sigh.

"How did you know?"

"It's obvious," James shrugged. "To me, anyway – clearly not to Albus."

"James," Scorpius said desperately, fixing the oldest Potter with an intense stare. "How did you _know_?"

James sighed and drained the last of his Butterbeer. "You're always together," he pointed out. "You're always finding excuses to touch him. You've never shown any interest in _any_ girls – and don't try to use Rose as an excuse here, because I know that you don't think of her that way – but you fawn over Albus like a lovesick puppy. Not to mention that since he started going out with Genevieve you've been avoiding him like the plague."

Scorpius moaned and slumped down on the table. "Does anybody else know?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"Lily," James said. "Lysander, too. They thought that you guys were going out until this whole mess with Genevieve happened."

"Do they hate me? Do you?" Scorpius whispered. James blinked.

"Hate you? Don't be dumb, Malfoy. Lily loves you – she was crushed when she found out that Al was going out with Genevieve. Lysander's disappointed. And I'm just wondering when you're going to have the balls to admit how you feel and tell Albus so that he can put Genevieve Thomas in his past."

"He already knows," Scorpius muttered. James swore under his breath.

"He does?"

Scorpius told him about the Halloween Ball and how things had gone downhill from there. James was a good listener – he gasped at all the right parts and knew when he was supposed to stay silent. By the time Scorpius had finished the story, his face was stony and his jaw was set.

"He's in denial," he decided. "That's all."

"That's what I thought," Scorpius said gloomily, draining the last few drops of his Butterbeer. "But he's with Genevieve, so there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to hope that he's happy with her."

"Bullshit," James retorted.

"Excuse me?" Scorpius said, raising his eyebrows.

"I said that's bullshit," James clarified. "You said it yourself – Albus called Genevieve crazy. He said he didn't like her. I'm willing to bet every single one of my mum's Quidditch trophies that the only reason he asked her out was because he realized how he felt about you and it scared him."

"Why, though?" Scorpius wondered aloud. "It's not like being gay is a big deal these days. No-one would care."

James sighed. "It's not a big deal for you, Scorpius," he said heavily. "Your family name doesn't mean anything anymore – er, no offense. But Albus is a Potter. You don't understand the weight that name carries."

"Don't I?" Scorpius said hotly. "My family name may not command the respect that it did before the war, but that doesn't mean I blend into the background. It's just that the coin's flipped. People judge me instead of respecting me. It's the same thing."

"It's not," James said. "If you screw up, it doesn't matter, because that's what everyone expects. If Albus screws up... it's a big deal."

A silence settled over the table. Scorpius mulled over James's words, suddenly seeing Albus's situation in a new light. James had a point – Albus was a _Potter_. He wasn't just any other wizard. His parents were Harry and Ginny Potter, famous warriors. His mother was one of the most popular Quidditch players in England. His father wasn't just one of the most respected Aurors in the country, he was a living legend. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One.

He'd never thought about how much pressure Albus must be under to live up to their expectations.

"Alright," Scorpius said. "You've got a point. But I meant what I said. There's nothing I can do."

"Make him jealous," James said bluntly.

"What?" Scorpius replied, taken aback.

"Make. Him. Jealous," James repeated, speaking slowly and clearly. "Look, Scorpius, I don't normally agree with guys who try to break up relationships. But what Albus and Genevieve have isn't a real relationship. It's fake. Besides that, I'm his older brother – I know him better than anyone else. I can tell that he cares about you and what you just told me proves it. You and Albus belong together and the best way for you to catch his attention is to make him realize what he's missing out on."

"How am I supposed to do that?" the Slytherin asked, dumbfounded.

"That's for you to figure out," James said mysteriously. "I'll see you later, Malfoy."

* * *

><p>When she returned to the castle after the Hogsmeade trip, Rose was soaked to the skin. She'd been so busy in Potage's that she hadn't noticed the storm brewing outside, and by the time she had noticed, it was too late. She'd had to walk back to the castle alone in the pouring rain.<p>

When she finally arrived, she'd missed dinner and even the puddings had been cleared away. So Rose headed for the Ravenclaw common room feeling rather crabby and sorry for herself, feelings which only deepened when she spotted Albus and Genevieve snogging outside the library.

_Why does Genevieve get to have all the fun?_ Rose wondered. _Why can't it be my turn for once? Why don't I get to kiss my boyfriend? Oh, that's right. I don't have one. I scared him away._

She thought of Scorpius and felt her bad mood worsen. She hadn't talked to him since the Halloween Ball. And really, this was all his fault. Before Scorpius, Rose hadn't had any interest in the boys at Hogwarts. They were all too loud and brash and suggestive. Scorpius was different though. He was quiet and sensitive, and he didn't make inappropriate jokes. He treated Rose like a real person, not a conquest. That was what she liked about him.

"Why did he have to be so nice?" she muttered under her breath, ascending the spiral staircase that led to Ravenclaw tower. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

"Who's stupid?"

Rose's head jerked up and her blue eyes met stunning grey ones. Standing at the top of the staircase was none other than Scorpius Malfoy, wearing an apologetic grin.

"Nobody," Rose replied, halting in her tracks and leaning against the wall. "What are you doing here?"

Scorpius took a deep breath and took Rose's hands. He tugged at them until she allowed him to pull her into a sitting position on the top step. He didn't, however, let go of her hands. She tried not to think about what that meant and focused instead on his eyes.

"I owe you an apology," he said honestly. "I've been unfair to you, and you didn't deserve it."

"Is this about the Ball?" Rose said uncertainly.

"Yes," Scorpius replied. "But... not just that. I lied to you and I led you on, Rose. I'm sorry. You have _no_ idea how sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to the Ball because... I don't like you that way."

Rose's breath caught and she felt tears prick at her eyes. _Well_, she thought dumbly, _at least he's being honest with me._

"The truth is," the Slytherin continued, "I like someone else. Actually, I'm kind of in love with them. And I thought it was better to tell you before things got out of hand and someone got hurt."

"You're in love with someone?" Rose said, her eyes widening. Scorpius nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh... wow. So does that mean – um, does that mean that there's no chance that you'll change your mind?"

"I won't change my mind," Scorpius said softly.

"Are you sure?" she said, knowing that she sounded desperate, but finding herself unable to care. "I could be like her. If you told me her name then I could try to be more like her–"

"Rose," he interrupted. "I won't change my mind because I'm not in love with a girl, I'm in love with a boy. I'm gay, Rosie."

"Gay?" she repeated, her voice squeaky with surprise.

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted, grinning widely, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I'm gay."

"Oh... wow," Rose said again, hardly able to believe it. "Who are you in love with? Sorry – oh, I'm sorry, Scorpius! You don't have to answer that. It's none of my business."

"Actually, it is," he replied, his face growing serious once more. "And it's just another thing that I have to apologize for. See, I actually care about you, Rose. I like to think that we're good friends, and even if I can't be with you in the way you want me to, I want to stay that way. So I don't want to hide anything from you. Especially something like this."

"It's not Hugo, is it?" Rose said, her jaw dropping. "Because I can handle the gay thing, Scorpius, but I don't think I can handle you being in love with my brother. You know he's only thirteen, right?"

Scorpius looked horrified. "No!" he said quickly. "It's not Hugo!"

"Good," she replied, looking slightly mollified. "So... who?"

Scorpius hesitated. "Albus," he blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut so that he wouldn't see her reaction.

Rose sucked in a breath. _Albus_, she said to herself. _My cousin Albus. Scorpius is in love with my cousin Albus. Albus Potter. My best friend's boyfriend. My cousin Albus._

"Oh," she said.

"I just thought I should tell you," Scorpius said, "and apologize, because I've made a decision about what I'm going to do. And some people might get hurt, and I didn't want you to be one of them."

"What are you going to do?" Rose asked, eyeing him warily. Scorpius sighed.

"I'm going to make him jealous," he said firmly, avoiding her gaze. "I know that he's going out with Genevieve and I know she's your best friend, but please don't try to stop me, Rose. I know that he feels _something_ for me. When we kissed at the Ball–"

"You kissed at the Ball?" Rose gasped. "But – he and Genevieve–"

"Are a lie," Scorpius finished for her. "When I went to go find Albus, we ended up kissing. I told him how I felt, and the next morning I found out he and Genevieve were together. It's a lie, Rose. He's only with her because he's scared about his feelings for me and what they mean. It's not fair to anyone. The sooner he breaks up with her, the better it is for everybody."

"He's lying to her?" Rose said, horrified at the thought of Albus using her best friend like that.

"I don't think he realizes it," Scorpius admitted. "He's not just lying to her. He's lying to himself, too."

"She really cares about him," Rose said, nibbling on her lip.

"That's sweet," Scorpius said, "but she deserves to have someone who can care about her in the same way."

_He's right,_ Rose thought. _No matter how Genevieve feels about Albus, if Scorpius is telling the truth, then they shouldn't be together._

"So what are you going to do?" she asked, nudging Scorpius with her knee.

"Well, I need to make him jealous," Scorpius said heavily. "So I guess I'll have to find someone who's willing to go out with me. I don't know how I'm going to do it, Rose. I don't want to hurt anyone."

He stood and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I guess I'd better get back to the Slytherin common room," he said, offering her a rueful smile. "I'm sorry about everything, Rose. I hope that we can be friends." He started to make his way down the steps.

Rose watched him go, trying to process all of the information she'd just received. Scorpius was nearly out of sight when she jumped to her feet.

"Wait!"

He turned back, eyebrows raised. "What's wrong, Rose?"

"I'll do it," she said breathlessly. "I'll help you make Albus jealous."

* * *

><p><em>I promise Rose is going to be less annoying after this. Unless she rebels against me, which I have no power over.<em>

_Anyway, this is the longest chapter of this story yet, so I'm rewarding myself with a cookie. The reason this chapter took so long is a) the length, b) the fact that I joined Tumblr (if you wanna follow me, the link is on my profile) and c) I'm preparing for NaNoWriMo, so all of my energy is going into plotting and outlining and planning how not to break down during November._

_Oh. Anyway. Review if you can ^_^_


	11. Falling Apart

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **_so here's chapter eleven, exactly a week after chapter ten. This wasn't intentional, yet I'm kind of proud. I'd like to thank everybody who's reviewed/favourited/story alerted etc. Although I did only get 2 reviews on the last chapter, so I think I may be doing something wrong. I dunno =/ Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and please do review if you can. It would honestly make my day._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Falling Apart<strong>

Scorpius blinked at Rose, his mouth falling open a little. The Ravenclaw was standing tall, her back arched and her eyes shining. She looked determined. He considered her offer.

"Are you sure, Rose?" he said cautiously. "I know how you feel about me. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt," she replied boldly, folding her arms. "I know the facts now and I can move on – but please let me help you. At least if you use me, you won't be leading anyone on. This way, nobody will get hurt."

Scorpius hesitated. She had a point. It would be much easier to start a fake relationship with Rose than to enter the murky wading pool known as teenage dating. And it would probably make Albus even _more_jealous, considering that Scorpius's new "girlfriend" would be a relation of his.

"Alright," he said after a moment, choosing to ignore Rose's triumphant grin. "Let's do it. Starting from tomorrow, we're a couple."

She nodded, turned on her heel and disappeared into the Ravenclaw common room. Scorpius headed for the Slytherin common room, fighting with himself internally. He knew that what he was doing was wrong – in so many different ways. Not only was he entering into a fake relationship with a girl who was in love with him, he was doing it with the intention of breaking up his best friend's relationship with his fake girlfriend's best friend. He winced. Thinking about it made his head hurt.

Still, it wasn't like he had a choice. This was the only way he could get Albus to admit the truth. That was all he wanted. He told himself that although he was doing a bad thing, it was justified – though that didn't stop him from tossing and turning all that night.

The news of Scorpius and Rose's relationship spread like wildfire – by the end of the next week, every student in Hogwarts had heard. It was met with mixed reactions. Ironically, Genevieve Thomas was the most excited to hear about it, while Albus's reaction was a tight lipped grin for Rose's benefit and a glare in Scorpius's direction.

Together, Rose and Scorpius worked out a rapport that would fool the other students, but keep things from getting too weird between them. Scorpius was very careful to ensure that there was absolutely no way that Rose could misinterpret things. By the time the first Quidditch match of the season rolled around, they had settled into a comfortable routine. Scorpius was disappointed by Albus's behavior, however – other than the odd glare or cold smile, he barely displayed any opinion of their relationship. The other Potters had been quite vocal, however – the day after the plan had been put into action, Lily and James had cornered him after dinner, twin glints in their eyes.

"What are you doing with Rose?" Lily had demanded, putting her fiery temper to good use. She'd stood with one hand planted firmly on her hip, her wand clutched in the other and her feet pointed outwards. Scorpius had gotten the impression that she was trying to be threatening, and although he would never admit it if he was asked, it worked.

"I know I told you to make him jealous," James had said, glaring at him through narrow eyes, "but I didn't mean use my _cousin_ to do it. She's head over heels for you, you git. You're just going to hurt her."

Scorpius had corrected them about the plan, reassuring them that Rose was fully aware of his sexuality, and that this was simply an agreement they had worked out between them. The Potter siblings had been skeptical at first, but by the time Scorpius had finished with his explanation, they were glowing with praise and offering to help in any way they could. When he went to bed that night, Scorpius felt slightly better about the whole arrangement thanks to their approval.

Scorpius woke bright and early on the morning of the match, his stomach fluttering with anticipation. This was the day – they'd been training for weeks and all of their hard work was going to pay off, he was sure of it. He dressed in his Quidditch robes and hurried down to breakfast, noting that he was the last out of the dormitory. The Slytherin team were all sitting together, listening to one of Amy Flood's infamous pep talks. Pucey was listening with rapt attention as always, while Alexander Zabini, Antoine Tuckett and Tristan Flint stared gormlessly into their bowls of porridge. Albus, meanwhile, was drizzling golden syrup over a slice of toast.

"Morning, Malfoy," Flood said briskly. "Eat up, then. We have to be out on the pitch in ten minutes." Scorpius slid into the last available seat, beside Zabini, and crunched on a piece of toast. He could already feel the adrenaline pumping.

After a quick breakfast, the Slytherin team made their way to the pitch, stopping to collect their brooms on the way. They gathered in the locker room for a brief speech from Flood before lining up just outside the entrance to the pitch alongside the Gryffindor team. The stadium was already packed with their fellow students. Scorpius could see Wyatt Jordan in the stands, ready to play his usual role of commentator. When the stadium was full and Madam Spinnet had given him the signal, he jumped into action.

"Alright, witches and wizards, welcome to the very first Quidditch match of the school year," he shouted, grinning in response to the resounding cheer that followed. "I'm your commentator, Wyatt Jordan! Today we're going to witness the long-awaited match between Slytherin house and Gryffindor house – so without further ado, please give it up for the Gryffindor team! I give you – Potter, Breslin, Oswald, Fogarty, Weasley, Peabody and Wood!"

James glanced to his left and winked at the Slytherins before shooting onto the pitch, followed by the rest of his team. Scorpius took a deep breath, listening to the Gryffindors roaring in the stadium, and prepared himself for his entrance.

"Alright, and now for the Slytherin team! I give you – Flood, Potter, Zabini, Tuckett, Flint, Pucey and Malfoy!"

The Slytherins shot onto the pitch and did a lap before landing opposite the Gryffindor team. Madam Spinnet perched on her broom a few feet above the ground, her whistle hanging around her neck.

"Captains, shake hands," she said firmly, and Flood and James stepped forward. They grasped hands quickly and then returned to their teams. Madam Spinnet stepped forward and unlatched the beaten up old trunk containing the four Quidditch balls. First to zoom out of the trunk were the two Bludgers, followed by the tiny Golden Snitch, and then finally, Madam Spinnet took the Quaffle into her hands. "Mount your brooms!"

The teams kicked off and Madam Spinnet tossed the Quaffle into the air. The game was on.

Scorpius was immediately on the lookout for the tiny Snitch. The sooner he caught it, the better – after all, James was the Gryffindor Seeker, and he was the son of one of the most famous Seekers in Hogwarts history. Scorpius was going to have to do everything he could to stay on top of him. He scanned the pitch carefully, listening to the commentary as he kept lookout.

"And it's Alexander Zabini of Slytherin with the Quaffle, he's zooming up the pitch with remarkable speed – OUCH, nice Bludger to the stomach from Gryffindor Beater Roxanne Weasley! Weasley is a new addition to the team and judging from a poll conducted on Hogwarts students, a big risk – but she's proving her worth with yet another attack on opponent Amy Flood! Look at that arm, folks!"

Gryffindor were in possession of the Quaffle now, with Zoey Oswald in control of the little red ball. She zigzagged through the Slytherin Beaters, ducked around Flood and tossed the ball towards the middle hoop – but Pucey managed to catch it. Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief and furrowed his brow as he widened the search for the Snitch. In the corner of his eye, he could see James hamming it up for the crowd – clearly he didn't see Scorpius as much of a threat.

"Gryffindor in possession, Cree Breslin with the Quaffle – cracking player, she's been a powerhouse on the Gryffindor team since her second year – AND SHE SCORES! Pucey fumbles the save and Breslin scores, putting Gryffindor in the lead at ten to zero!"

Scorpius cursed and scanned the pitch with more purpose – he wanted to catch the Snitch and get it over with before Gryffindor gained more of a lead. He kept his ears open as well, listening eagerly to Wyatt's commentary.

"Slytherin in possession! It's Albus Potter with the Quaffle – he ducks to avoid a Bludger from Peabody and still manages to pull off a goal, putting Slytherin back in the running! It's ten-ten folks, and things are starting to heat up!"

A tiny golden blur suddenly zoomed past Scorpius and he started, pulling his broom handle and spurring it into action. The sudden movement caught James's eye and he wheeled around, tailing Scorpius with skilled precision. Scorpius nudged his broomstick forwards, tongue poking out from the edge of his mouth, and stretched his hand out to catch the Snitch. Just as his fingers brushed the golden sphere, a Bludger came hurtling in his direction. Scorpius ducked and rolled over to avoid it, spotting Roxanne Weasley punching the air with triumph. The dodge only took a split second, but in that split second, the Snitch had vanished. Scorpius resumed his vigil.

"Zabini with the Quaffle, he passes it to Flood – Flood drops it! Gryffindor in possession, Fogarty going for the goal – he shoots, he – _doesn't_ score! Pucey saves it and now it's Slytherin in possession! This time it's Potter again – NICE BLUDGER FROM PEABODY, but he avoids it again and scores! Slytherin lead, twenty-ten!"

The Gryffindors in the stands booed, while a sea of green and silver roared their approval. Scorpius circled the stadium and spotted Rose and Genevieve tucked into the Slytherin crowd, wearing green and silver to support their boyfriends. He hoped Albus had spotted Rose, too.

A moment later, it became clear that he had when Albus had another chance at a goal and missed it completely – mostly because his head was turned in the direction of the stands, his eyes narrowed into a glare at the sight of his cousin. Scorpius couldn't help but grin at that – finally, some kind of reaction! However, as the game wore on and Albus continued to miss easy goals, he started to worry. Eventually, when Gryffindor were in the lead eighty to twenty, Flood called for a time out.

The team landed heavily. Zabini, Tuckett and Flint wore identical expressions of fury, while Pucey just looked confused and Flood looked disappointed. Albus, at least, had the decency to look sheepish.

"I don't know what's wrong with you," Flood said to Albus, "but you better get your act together, Potter. We've trained too hard to lose this game. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," he muttered.

"Good. I noticed that Peabody's aiming all of his Bludgers at you – if that's what's psyching you out, I want you to do a Sloth Grip Roll next time he tries it. And _score_, Potter. If you think you're going to miss, pass it to me or Zabini. Get it?"

"Yes," Albus repeated.

"Alright," Flood said, looking satisfied. "Malfoy, with Potter off form, we'll need you to catch the Snitch as soon as you can. Can you do that?"

"I'm trying," Scorpius replied.

"Mmm. Try harder, then. Let's go!"

They kicked off and the match resumed. Scorpius scanned the stadium, more determined than ever to catch the Snitch and end this _now_.

"It's Slytherin in possession, Potter with the Quaffle!" Wyatt was shouting. Scorpius's heart clenched. He couldn't resist turning his attention to the black haired boy zooming up the pitch, his face screwed up with determination. "Potter's been playing badly this game, not to his usual standards, but he seems ready to change that – Peabody doesn't seem willing to break the pattern though, as he aims his tenth Bludger of the game at Potter! Potter ducks – no, wait, that's the Sloth Grip Roll!"

Albus had slid down his broom handle so that he was hanging upside down, clinging to the wooden handle like a monkey. The Bludger zoomed past him and Albus scrambled back into a sitting position, urging forward before shooting for a goal. This time, it made it past the Gryffindor Keeper. The green and silver clad supporters cheered for the first time in ages, and Scorpius smiled.

A moment later, however, his stomach lurched. James was speeding along beside the stands, his gaze very clearly focused on something that Scorpius hadn't seen. The blond cursed loudly and shot forwards, tailgating James for all he was worth. The Gryffindor Seeker was so focused on the Snitch that he didn't notice Scorpius edging in beside him.

"It looks like our Seekers have seen the Snitch!" Wyatt yelled, spotting the two boys racing around the pitch. "Potter is in the lead, but Malfoy's catching up – OH, there's a well aimed Bludger from Tuckett! Potter swerves to avoid it and now Malfoy is in the lead – he's almost there – HE'S GOT IT! MALFOY'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THIS PUTS THE SCORE AT ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TO EIGHTY – SLYTHERIN WIN!"

Wyatt sounded disappointed – and rightly so, seeing as he was a Gryffindor – but Scorpius's heart was threatening to burst out of his chest. He did a victory lap around the stadium, holding the Snitch high, his grin so wide that his face hurt. The Slytherin team descended on him, enveloping him in a warm hug as they swirled to the ground.

"We did it!" Flood cried. "First match of the year and we _won_!"

"Party in the common room!" Pucey yelled. The others gave a resounding shout of agreement, and Scorpius caught Albus's eye. The other boy grinned hesitantly, sending a burst of hope shooting through Scorpius's chest. Maybe the party would be the perfect way to patch things up between them – and maybe get Albus to reveal his true feelings once and for all.

The stadium slowly emptied and the team returned to the locker room to change into regular robes. Flood was the first to leave, accompanied by Pucey who was muttering something about organizing party supplies. Zabini, Tuckett and Flint left together, leaving Albus and Scorpius alone for the first time since the Halloween Ball.

"Er – well done," Albus said after a few minutes of awkward silence. "In the match."

"Thanks," Scorpius said, resisting the urge to squeal at the praise. "I can't believe I actually beat your brother."

"I told you that you would," Albus replied, slipping back into the old routine without missing a beat. "You're just as good as James, only you don't spend your time clowning around on the field."

Scorpius smiled. "The girls enjoyed him, at least," he said, forgetting momentarily about plans and jealousy and fake relationships. For now, it was nice just to be friends with Al again.

Then again, he should have known it wouldn't last for long. "Speaking of girls…" Albus said hesitantly. "Scor… why are you with Rose?"

Scorpius turned to Albus and met his eyes with raised brows. "Why are you with Genevieve?" he shot back.

"I like her," Albus replied, although it took a little too long and sounded a little too rehearsed. "She's fun."

"She's a girl."

"Exactly," Albus said. "And I'm straight. S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T. Straight, Scorpius."

"Whatever you say," Scorpius replied nonchalantly, folding his Quidditch robes and tucking them neatly into his bag.

"I am," Al said stubbornly. "But you're not, which brings me back to my _original_ point – why are you with Rose? You're gay. You don't want a girlfriend."

"If I didn't know any better," Scorpius said, "I'd say that you were jealous, Al."

"I'm not jealous."

"So why have you gone red?"

Albus stared at him for a moment, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Eventually, he huffed out a sigh and stormed out of the locker room. Scorpius finished packing up his things, whistling calmly under his breath. At least his plan was beginning to have an effect.

* * *

><p>"So you see," Pucey said in a sing-song voice, "I didn't <em>mean<em> to puke on Professor Lupin's desk. It just _happened_."

Albus rolled his eyes. It was two hours into the celebratory party in the Slytherin common room, and some wise individual had spiked the pumpkin juice. As a result, the majority of Slytherin house were lolling around the common room, giggling feebly and spouting nonsense. Albus had avoided the punch, though he was starting to think that he might be better off if he threw caution to the wind and joined in on their drunken antics.

After all, at least if he was drunk, he might not _feel_ so much. That was something he was doing a lot of lately. _Feeling_. He was suddenly being bombarded with a slew of emotions that he didn't want to deal with, though it was becoming increasingly obvious that he would have to.

He sighed and glanced around the room, his eyes drawn, of course, to the pale blond boy in the corner. Scorpius was chatting with Pucey's girlfriend, Hestia Aarons. Their heads were bent close together and Hestia was giggling like a schoolgirl – the image made a hot flare of jealousy ignite in Albus's chest, and he knew it wasn't on behalf of Rose.

"I'm not gay," he muttered fiercely, crossing his arms over his chest. Pucey blinked at him.

"You're not grey?" the Keeper said, wrinkling his nose. "Well… _obviously_, Albus. Only dead people are grey. And, you know. Inferi."

"Of course, Pucey," Albus replied. "I wasn't thinking straight. Sorry."

"That's OK, Al," Pucey said cheerfully, taking another gulp of spiked pumpkin juice. "So anyway, how's it going with the – _hic_ – Ravenclaw? Whassername again? Jenna? Jeanette? Jennifer?"

"Genevieve," Albus offered.

"Thassit!" Pucey said gleefully. "Her! Curly hair and – _hic_ – nice tits."

"Er… it's fine?" Albus said, unsure of how to respond to that comment.

"I like her," Pucey said, sounding doleful all of a sudden. "If it wasn't for – whassername – Heather? Holly?"

"Hestia, Pucey."

"Yeah!" the Keeper said, nodding fiercely. "Yeah… if it wasn't for Hes-ee-ah, I'd go for Jennifer… wait, no…"

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just shut up, Pucey," he said tiredly. He left his friend to his ramblings and headed for the fifth year boys' dormitory, suddenly not in a celebratory mood. The festivities would go on for another couple of hours, at least, but all Albus wanted to do was sleep.

He climbed into his emerald four poster and willed sleep to come quickly – it had been a long day, and he just wanted to turn his brain off and wake up in an alternate reality where all of his emotional troubles had disappeared. After a lengthy hour or so of tossing and turning, he finally drifted into a fitful sleep.

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><p><em>The sun was beating down. He was sprawled out next to the lake, his feet bare, toes dipped in the murky water. His chest was bare, too, gleaming underneath the rays of the sun. Albus sighed blissfully, his eyes snapping shut as slender fingers threaded their way through his hair. A sense of calmness and tranquility washed over him. He smiled contentedly, only to start when he heard a low chuckle coming from overhead.<em>

"_Relax," a familiar voice whispered. "I've got you." Cool lips pressed against his forehead, and then Albus felt strong hands grip his forearms and pull him into a more accessible position. Before he could do anything else those cool lips had returned, this time pressing against Albus's. He sighed into the kiss, marveling at how soft it was, how warm it was, how good it made him feel._

_Suddenly he found himself lying on the grass, a slender body hovering over his while those devastating lips slid their way down the column of his throat. Albus gasped, arching his back as a tongue darted out and traced its way along his collarbone. He clenched a nearby tuft of grass, ripping it out of the ground as their lips connected once more. He felt himself raising his arms to pull the other person closer to him, pressing their bodies together in an unbearably delicious way, until it felt like they were melding, becoming the same person. Albus suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to open his eyes. He opened them, catching a glimpse of a familiar head of blond hair before–_

"Albus! Wake up! Al!"

Albus jolted awake, gasping and covered in sweat. Scorpius was hovering over him, hand on his shoulder, looking concerned. Albus jerked away from his touch like it was a hot poker, lowering his eyes. He was sure that his dream was painted all over his face – sure that Scorpius would be able to tell just from a glance.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Scorpius asked. "You were muttering and thrashing around – I thought I'd better wake you."

"I'm fine," Albus muttered. "Fine. Just – just go to bed."

Scorpius stared at him for a moment but eventually sidled over to his own bed. Albus yanked the hangings of his four poster shut and lay down, heart thudding wildly.

_It doesn't mean anything,_ he told himself. _It's just a dream._

He listened to Scorpius's heavy breathing from the next bed over and closed his eyes tightly.

_Just a dream._

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><p><em>Poor Al. So oblivious. Please review!<em>


	12. House Guests

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** yes. Here it is. An actual chapter. I am SO sorry for the wait. I did NaNoWriMo this year which pretty much took up all of my time, and some of you who read my author's notes in this story and others may know that I've had some pretty serious stomach issues since the summer. I've been focused on getting that sorted out. This chapter would have been posted last week, except my surgery was cancelled and I was in a bad place. However, my surgery has been rescheduled for Tuesday the 13th, so let's hope that goes ahead. I know this chapter is short, but I really wanted to get an update out and it does further the story... kind of. The next chapter should hopefully be longer and with more actual plot, but **my exams start on the 20th of December**_, _so I'll be studying for those. The wait shouldn't be too long though. Anyway, now that I've babbled on for long enough, please enjoy the **very** late chapter twelve of _Turning Tables_ :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: House Guests<strong>

The next few weeks were torture for both Albus and Scorpius – the latter was beginning to think that his plan to get Albus to see the light was never going to work, oblivious to the fact that it was working all too well.

Meanwhile, Albus avoided Scorpius like the plague in the weeks leading up to Christmas. After the disturbing dream about the lake which had awakened yet more feelings that he didn't want to deal with, he had done everything he could to avoid situations which would lead to them being alone together. It helped that Genevieve was always anxious to spend time with him, although whenever he was with her, he wondered if Scorpius was with Rose.

By the time the Christmas holidays finally came around, Albus was exhausted and in desperate need of a break. The night before the Hogwarts Express was due to take them home for the holidays, he packed his things in his trunk. He was already looking forward to enjoying his usual Christmas traditions – Christmas dinner with his grandparents and extended family at the Burrow, opening presents with Lily and James, spending New Year's with Rose and Hugo and their parents. Usually he was sad to leave Scorpius behind for the holidays, but this year, he was grateful. Maybe the break would give him a chance to work out his confusion.

He slept peacefully that night, dreaming about Christmas morning already. He filed onto the Hogwarts Express with the other students the next morning, Genevieve's hand clasped in his. They managed to find a compartment to themselves which Albus was grateful for – he didn't want to deal with Scorpius on the journey home – but his relief didn't last for long. Just before the train chugged out of Hogsmeade station the door of the compartment slid open and Rose's face peered through the gap, her red hair peeking out from beneath her knitted wool hat.

"Hi," she said brightly. "Can we join you? Everywhere else is full."

"Of course!" Genevieve replied without missing a beat. Albus groaned inwardly as Rose slid the door all the way open and squeezed in, tugging Scorpius in behind her. He shuffled inside and shot Albus a cheeky grin before stashing away their luggage, sitting in the seat opposite him and taking Rose's hand in his.

_The nerve,_ Albus fumed. _So much for avoiding him._

"I can't wait to get home for Christmas," Rose said, oblivious to her cousin's displeasure. "It feels like forever since I last saw Mum and Dad. I was just telling Scorpius about the time Dad tried to help with Christmas dinner and ended up lighting the kitchen on fire – Grams was so mad, wasn't she, Al?"

"Mm hmm," he said, glowering in Scorpius's direction. The other boy pretended not to notice.

"It was a great story," he said, squeezing Rose's hand. "I can't imagine my dad trying to cook. He leaves that to mum, thankfully. She makes the best turkey."

"Oh, there's no way you could beat our Grams's cooking," Rose said, shaking her head. "She's absolutely _fantastic._ For our cousin Victoire's birthday – that's Professor Weasley – she made this amazing cake with buttercream icing and jam filling and…" She trailed off with a sigh, her eyes growing wide at the memory of the cake. Albus rolled his eyes and when no-one continued the conversation, he grudgingly offered up a story of his own.

"My dad told me that she made a cake in the shape of a golden Snitch for his seventeenth birthday," he supplied. Scorpius looked interested – unsurprisingly, since he was a Seeker.

"I'll admit my mum isn't the best baker," he said. "She's great at traditional cooking though. Yorkshire pudding and stuff like that."

"Well, _my_ parents are both terrible cooks," Genevieve put in. "Which is why I'm glad I'm spending Christmas with Albus this year."

Albus forced a smile. He'd forgotten about that. Genevieve's parents were taking her older brother on a holiday for his impending seventeenth birthday. She hadn't wanted to go and had instead asked Albus if she could stay with his family. At the time, he had just found out about Scorpius and Rose and he was trying to deal with his unwanted Scorpius centered dreams. He had said yes without thinking and by the time he'd come to his senses, it was too late to back out.

Oh well. At least his parents were pleased.

"Are you?" Rose said. She smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You didn't tell me that!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Genevieve said, hooking her arm through Albus's, tugging him close and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Albus told me that your family gets together over the holidays, so I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other, Rosie!"

"That's great," Rose said, sharing a glance with Scorpius. The blond boy gave a smile of his own.

"It is," he agreed, draping an arm around Rose's shoulders, "especially because I'm staying with Rose's family, too."

Albus stiffened in surprise and heard Genevieve squeal in excitement. He stared at Scorpius, numb with shock. Scorpius stared right back at him, his cool grey eyes filled with determination. Albus's gaze slid slowly over to Rose, who looked a little surprised as well. He frowned.

"Are you sure about that?" he said derisively. "Rose doesn't look like she is."

"Er, no!" Rose said hastily, shaking her head. "No, I just forgot, that's all. Yes, Scorpius is staying with me this Christmas."

"Oh," Albus said, although he still stared suspiciously at the couple. "And why aren't you staying at home, Scorpius?"

"My dad is sick," Scorpius said immediately. Genevieve gasped and started to express her condolences, but Scorpius cut across her with a hasty cough. "Oh, it's nothing serious, just… just chickenpox, that's all."

"Chickenpox," Albus repeated.

"Yeah," Rose said, glancing at her boyfriend and then nodding. "Scorpius has never had it, and it's highly contagious, so his mum wants to keep him out of the house over the holidays. My mum and dad offered to let him stay with us. Hugo's really excited, he wants Scorpius to teach him some Quidditch moves over the break – seeing as you and James won't." She grinned at Albus, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Funny," he said, narrowing his eyes, "because I was talking to Hugo this morning and he didn't mention anything about Scorpius staying with you."

Genevieve glanced between the two cousins and then cleared her throat, obviously sensing that something was up. When she spoke, her voice was bright and cheerful. "Rose, I just _love_ your hat."

Rose smiled and thanked Genevieve and the two of them descended into a sickly sweet, girly conversation about fashion, while Albus glared at Scorpius from across the carriage. After a few minutes of listening to the two girls chattering, Scorpius rose from his seat and left the carriage, mumbling that he needed to send an owl to his parents to see how they were doing. Left alone with his cousin and his girlfriend, Albus slumped down in his seat and closed his eyes. His excitement about the Christmas holidays had all but vanished. By the time Scorpius slipped back into the compartment, Albus had fallen asleep, his head resting against the window.

When the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into King's Cross Station, it was dark outside. Genevieve shook Albus awake and he got to his feet, yawning groggily. He gathered up his things and helped Genevieve out of the compartment with her luggage before Scorpius and Rose could even stand, studiously ignoring them as they passed. He was sure that when they got off the train he would find Scorpius's parents waiting there as usual, proving that he had been lying – except when he stepped into the cold December air, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were nowhere to be found.

The Potters and the Weasleys, however, were all standing nearby, their faces lighting up at the sight of their kids. Albus saw that Lily and Hugo were already standing beside their parents and he could see James making his way over to the group as well. Albus led Genevieve over to his family, his cheeks reddening a little as his father enveloped him in a warm hug.

"Get off, Dad," he muttered, wriggling out of his father's embrace. Harry stepped back and Albus saw his eyes flicker to Genevieve from behind his glasses. Albus coughed. "Er, this is Genevieve Thomas, my girlfriend. Genevieve, this is my mum and dad."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Genevieve said with a smile, holding out her hand.

"You look so like your dad that I feel like we've already met," Albus's mother said, sharing a playful glance with her husband. Genevieve looked confused. Ginny smiled and hurried to explain. "When we were in school, we knew your father."

"Ginny knew him better than I did," Harry said, not looking nearly as amused as Ginny. She laughed, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. Albus and Genevieve glanced at each other and then Albus shrugged, deciding he didn't want to know the gory details.

Scorpius and Rose suddenly appeared, strolling towards the Weasleys with matching smiles on their faces. Albus's gaze flickered to Rose's parents. His uncle Ron was muttering under his breath as Scorpius approached, while his aunt Hermione was smiling welcomingly at them. Albus guessed that Ron wasn't too pleased about the holiday arrangements.

"Hi Mum!" Rose said, quickening her pace and launching herself into her mother's arms. "Hi, Dad! I missed you!"

"Not as much as we missed you," Hermione said, kissing her daughter on the top of her head. She turned her attention to Scorpius, who was suddenly looking nervous. "Hello, Scorpius."

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," he said politely.

"Call me Hermione," Rose's mum said. "We're so glad to have you with us this Christmas, Scorpius." Ron muttered something and Hermione elbowed him in the side, earning a glower for her efforts.

"Yeah," Ron said gruffly. "So glad."

"Scorpius is staying with Ron and Hermione?" Harry said with a frown. "I thought he was your friend, Al."

"He's going out with Rose," Albus said. "And his dad has chickenpox, so he can't go home. Right, Scorpius?"

Without missing a beat, Scorpius nodded. "That's right. Highly contagious."

Ginny sucked in a breath. "Poor thing," she said sympathetically. "I remember when James was a baby, he caught the chickenpox – _and_ he was teething, so you can imagine…"

The Weasleys and the Potters made their way out of the station while Ginny chattered on about James's awful experience with chickenpox. Albus steered clear of Scorpius and Rose, choosing instead to hold Genevieve's hand. When they reached the car park, the two families said their goodbyes, although it wouldn't be for long – they were meeting up on Christmas day at the Burrow for Christmas dinner. Albus found himself in the backseat of his parents' rental car, sandwiched between James and Genevieve, while Lily had to perch on their eldest brother's lap. Albus was vaguely aware of Genevieve playing with his fingers, although his thoughts were focused on how dismal the Christmas holidays were going to be if he was going to be stuck around Scorpius the whole time.

_It won't be the whole time,_ he told himself. _Just Christmas day and New Year's Eve. Other than that, you can have a Scorpius-free holiday. Except for the dreams..._

He shook his head, putting the dreams out of his mind. They didn't mean anything. Dreams didn't have anything to do with reality. He was just beginning to think that he could have a decent holiday even with Scorpius staying at Rose's when Ginny looked at him through the rearview mirror with a smile that seemed ominous.

"Did you hear that, Al?"

"Hmm?" he said, blinking.

"Your father and I were just saying that we should get together with Ron and Hermione over the holidays," Ginny said, oblivious to the horror on her youngest son's face. "Seeing as Scorpius is staying with them. Doesn't that sound great?"

Albus's eyes flickered to Genevieve, who looked thrilled at the prospect. He looked at his brother, who had his eyebrows raised like he was daring Albus to say 'no'. Swallowing hard, he nodded.

"That sounds great, Mum."

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><p><em>Yes, it's short, and probably really bad, but I really wanted to get this out for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it anyway and please leave a review if you can.<em>


	13. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**Disclaimer: all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.**

**Author's Note:** so, the good news is that I got my surgery. The bad news is that it turned out to be a lot more painful than I expected and there were some complications with my recovery, so now I'm missing my Christmas exams. Oops. Oh well. Anyway, here is the 13th chapter of Turning Tables, very appropriately named "All I Want For Christmas Is You"! I wanted to get this up before the actual hectic Christmas thing starts, so I hope you enjoy it! There are some developments in this chapter that I think some of you guys will be very pleased about, so please leave a review! :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: All I Want For Christmas Is You<strong>

"Albus, wake up."

Albus groaned and huddled further beneath his blankets, pressing his face into his pillows. He could hear James moving around in the bed next to him and there was a strange sort of rustling sound too, but he was nowhere near ready to wake up. He had been home from Hogwarts for four days and the relaxing Christmas holiday he had hoped for had definitely not panned out. Instead, he'd spent most of his time with Genevieve – which had been exhausting, to say the least. Albus was beginning to realize that Genevieve was the type of girl who needed constant attention. He was also beginning to realize that he didn't want to give Genevieve the kind of attention she wanted.

But it was too early to think about things like that. The only peace he got from Genevieve was when he was asleep, which was why he needed to ignore James's chatter about presents and–

_Wait a minute_, Albus though, his eyes snapping open suddenly.

"It's Christmas!" he yelped, sitting bolt upright and sighting the stack of presents at the bottom of his bed with a large grin.

"Well done, genius," James said, rolling his eyes. Albus ignored his brother's sarcasm and leapt out of bed, racing down the hallway to Lily's room. He passed the guest room where Genevieve was staying for the holidays but didn't knock. Opening presents with his siblings was one of Albus's favorite Christmas traditions and he didn't want to share it with her. He supposed he should feel guilty, but he didn't. He woke Lily and they hurried back to the room that Albus and James shared, Lily's presents stacked in her arms. Lily didn't mention anything about Genevieve either, which Albus was grateful for.

Once all three Potter siblings were together, Albus shut the door and scrambled for the pile of gifts on his bed. He tore into the largest one and Lily and James did the same. Within minutes, the floor was covered in discarded wrapping paper. By the time they had unwrapped all of their presents, Albus had come up with an impressive haul – a green knitted sweater and a box of chocolate brownies from his grandmother, a broomstick servicing set, a new set of Gobstones and a book called _Beating the Bludgers – A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch_ from his parents, a set of quills from Rose and a box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and a bottle of Firewhiskey – which he quickly hid from his siblings – from Scorpius. Lily and James had each given him a large box of Fizzing Whizbees.

It had taken Albus a long time to decide what to get his brother and sister. In the end, he had gotten Lily a Pygmy Puff from their uncle George's joke shop and he'd given James a jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish for his broomstick. They both seemed pleased with their gifts. James was sniffing the broomstick polish appreciatively while Lily was played with her Pygmy Puff, which she had named Merriwick.

"Good haul this year," James commented, holding up a box of Honeydukes chocolates with a grin. Lily nodded enthusiastically and placed Merriwick the pink Pygmy Puff on her shoulder, where he immediately settled down with a content look on his fuzzy face. There was a light knock on the door and the three Potters looked around, frowns on their faces. Their parents normally didn't bother them until they came down for breakfast. With a sinking heart, Albus slid off his bed and padded across the carpet, opening the door to reveal Genevieve.

"Oh," she said, her eyes widening in surprise as she caught sight of Lily sitting cross legged on the carpet and James sprawled out on his bed, each of them surrounded by presents, discarded wrapping paper and cards. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

_Yes_, Albus thought.

"No," he said, pasting a cheery smile on his face. "It's just a tradition, we always open our presents together. I didn't want to wake you. Merry Christmas!" He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek and wrapped his arm loosely around her in an awkward hug. She returned it and then stood back. It looked like she was waiting for something. Albus stared at her for a moment and then got it. "Oh! Come in."

"Have you opened mine yet?" Genevieve asked, eyeing the wrapping paper scattered around the room. Albus started a little as she smiled. "I _loved_ what you got me. I love those Daydream Charms."

"Er, great," he said, his cheeks coloring. "I don't think I've opened yours yet though."

"Well, open it already!" Genevieve said, gesturing towards a present that Albus had missed in his scramble. It was wrapped with garish, glittering green paper and it stood out like a sore thumb against the gentle, pale gold of the bedsheets. Albus couldn't imagine how he'd missed it. He summoned up a smile once more and lifted the gift, pushing his thumbs beneath the wrapping and easing it open. After some time the paper fell away, revealing a cardboard box. Genevieve watched eagerly as Albus lifted the lid. His jaw dropped.

Inside the box, nestled on fluffy white tissue paper was a bright pink candle in the shape of a heart with the words _ALBUS AND GENEVIEVE – TOGETHER FOREVER_ engraved in the centre. Albus stared at it long and hard, swallowing his revulsion. Completely oblivious to his discomfort, Genevieve clapped her hands.

"It's an everlasting candle!" she squealed. "I enchanted it so that when you light it, it will–"

"Never go out," Albus finished for her, blinking.

"That's right! Do you like it?" she beamed.

"I'm speechless," he said honestly.

Genevieve squealed again and launched herself into Albus's arms, sending the candle hurtling out of his hands and to the safety of the bed – unfortunately. He patted her awkwardly on the back, ignoring Lily and James's knowing grins. When she finally straightened up, Albus coughed and muttered something about breakfast. He led Genevieve out of the bedroom, followed by his brother and sister. They found their parents in the kitchen. Ginny was sitting at the dining table with her head buried in the _Daily Prophet_, while Harry stood at the stove making breakfast. They both looked up and smiled when the children came in.

"Merry Christmas, Mum and Dad!" Lily said, hurrying forwards to wrap her arms around Ginny's neck. "Look what Albus got me, Mum!"

"A Pygmy Puff," Ginny said, grinning. "I had one of these when I was younger. His name was Arnold, I think."

"Mine is called Merriwick," Lily said proudly.

The other Potters and Genevieve exchanged Christmas greetings and then everyone gathered around the table for breakfast. Harry was no expert in the kitchen, but he did make a great fried breakfast and it was yet another thing that Albus loved about Christmas. He managed to completely forget about the hideous candle as he dug into the crispy bacon rashers, delicious fried eggs and brown and white pudding.

"What time are we going to the Burrow, Mum?" James asked through a mouthful of eggs. Ginny exchanged a glance with Harry and then looked back at her eldest son. She had a funny look on her face. Albus's heart clenched.

Had their plans changed? Were they staying at home this year? That would mean he'd have to spend even _more_ time at Genevieve… on the other hand, Scorpius would be at the Burrow, thanks to Rose. He hadn't seen Scorpius since they'd disembarked the Hogwarts Express a few days earlier which was fine by him.

But then again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to _actively_ avoid Scorpius anymore, especially after Genevieve's Christmas gift. He was suddenly very aware that he didn't have feelings for Genevieve in the way she wanted him to. Seeing their names engraved on that candle and knowing that she wanted them to be together for a long time terrified him – even nauseated him a little. He twirled his fork around his fingers. Maybe it was time to give up on this whole charade. That's what it was, really. He didn't like Genevieve. He never had. Not in that way. And he was tired of avoiding his best friend.

He jerked back to reality as Ginny gave a light cough and took a sip of pumpkin juice.

"We've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually," she said. Albus's heart sank. They _weren't_ going to the Burrow! And he'd just been starting to think that this would be the perfect time to patch things up with Scorpius. He opened his mouth to prepare to argue with his mother, but before he could, she continued. "I know we normally only stay for dinner and then have our own little family night at home, but this year, your grandparents decided to have a party, and we thought that we'd stay. What do you guys think?"

Albus closed his mouth.

"A party?" Lily said, wrinkling her nose. "Why?"

"Well," Harry said with a smile, his eyes glancing over Genevieve. "We have two special guests for Christmas dinner this year and I think your grandmother wants to make an occasion of it."

"Who's invited?" James wanted to know.

"The usual suspects," Ginny said, grinning. "All of your aunts and uncles and cousins and a few others, too. It should be fun, right?"

"Yeah!" Lily said enthusiastically. James nodded in agreement.

"What do you think, Al?" Harry asked. "Genevieve?"

"I think it sounds great, Mr. Potter," Genevieve said.

"Yeah, Dad," Albus agreed. "Great."

* * *

><p>Scorpius was exhausted.<p>

Christmas at the Weasley household was much more energetic than Christmas at the Malfoys – Rose's mother was apparently a huge control freak and everything had to be _just_ perfect. They all had to get up at eight a.m. exactly to open presents, the wrapping paper had to be put in the bin right away and they all had to have the same amount of toast slices on their plate at breakfast time. Rose privately confided to Scorpius that Hermione wasn't normally like this, but at Christmas time she went a little crazy.

Despite the tiring atmosphere at the Weasleys, Scorpius was enjoying himself. They had visited Rose and Hugo's Muggle grandparents on Christmas Eve – Scorpius had been fascinated by them. They'd spent the day there and then that night they had ordered a Chinese takeaway. Scorpius had never had one before. He thought it tasted fantastic.

The next morning had been hectic what with Hermione's frantic organizing and by that afternoon, Scorpius was eager to see what was next on the Weasley Christmas calendar.

"The Christmas party at Gran and Grandad's," Rose told him. "Well, _normally_ we all go to the Burrow for Christmas dinner and then we come home, but this year there's going to be a party. It's because of you and Genevieve, I'd expect."

"Because of us?" Scorpius said, surprised.

"Well," Rose said with a shrug. "Kind of. I think Gran's been wanting to throw a Christmas party for years but she never had a reason. Now she's throwing this one because we have a few 'extras' on the list. You're privileged, Scorpius." She grinned cheekily at him.

He grinned back. This was another thing he liked about staying with the Weasleys. Since he and Rose had started their fake relationship a few weeks before, they'd been growing closer and closer – as friends, of course – and staying with Rose's family was strengthening that friendship. It was nice to have someone to laugh with, especially since Albus was avoiding him.

He missed Albus. The plan that had seemed so great a few weeks ago was now starting to seem stupid and shallow. Every so often he began to think that he should just give up and hope that things could go back to normal between the two of them, but then he remembered the pained look which crossed Albus's face whenever Genevieve spoke and the jealousy that flashed across it when he saw Scorpius with Rose.

No, he couldn't give up now. Albus didn't have feelings for Genevieve.

"Hello, earth to Scorpius."

Scorpius blinked and saw that Rose was slipping her arms into her coat.

"Er, sorry," he said. "What was that?"

"We're leaving," Rose said, rolling her eyes as Hugo and her parents came out of the kitchen. "Come on!"

He followed Rose's family into the sitting room and stood beside Hugo as Ron rummaged about in a large jar of Floo powder. Within minutes, they were ready to go. One after another, they clambered into the fire and yelled "THE BURROW!" Scorpius was the last to step into the fireplace. When he finally stopped spinning and he could breathe again, he stepped out of the grate and into a small, cozy kitchen. It was already crowded with people. Scorpius recognized some of the faces – Albus and his siblings among them – but some were strangers.

Almost immediately, he was swept up in the hustle and bustle of yet another Weasley Christmas tradition – dinner at the Burrow. He found himself sandwiched between Rose and Hugo at the dinner table, which seemed far too small for so many. He gave Rose a sidelong glance and she smiled.

"Enchantments," she whispered. "Normally it only seats eight, but Gran's inventive when it comes to having people over. We have a big family."

_That_ was an understatement. Scorpius counted eight adults at the table and several more children. He admired Mrs. Weasley's spellcasting skills. It must have been quite a challenge to fit all of them at the same table, but somehow she'd managed it.

Dinner was delicious – roast turkey and goose with mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, cranberry sauce and a rich, nutty stuffing, served with Brussels sprouts and lashings and lashings of piping hot homemade gravy. Scorpius ate like he hadn't eaten in months. For dessert, Mrs. Weasley served a Christmas pudding along with bowls of vanilla ice cream and strawberry jelly. By the time the meal was finished, Scorpius's stomach was strained and he felt pleasantly bloated.

After dinner, the family seemed to split off in several directions – the younger kids started to play a game of tag around the yard while their parents enjoyed an after dinner drink. Scorpius began to panic when Rose left his side to talk with her cousin Lucy. His panic vanished when Albus sidled up to him and nudged him gently in the side.

"Hey," Albus muttered. Scorpius's eyes widened. Albus was talking to him voluntarily?

"Hi," he blurted out, his pale cheeks reddening.

"Come with me," Albus said, nodding in the direction of the door. Scorpius scrambled to his feet and followed Albus through a corridor and up a flight of stairs, into a small but bright room which was painted a light blue color. Posters of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team decorated the walls. Scorpius touched one of them, smiling as the players raced away beneath his fingertips. Albus glanced at him. "This was my mum's room. She loved the Harpies."

"She played for them, didn't she?" Scorpius said. He knew perfectly well that Albus's mother had been a star player for the team, but he was treading on unsteady ground. He didn't know what Albus would want to talk about, or why Albus was talking to him in the first place.

"Yeah," Albus said after a while. He shut the door and wandered over to sit on the small twin bed, where he sat thoughtfully for a few moments before reaching inside his shirt and retrieving a bottle of Firewhiskey. Scorpius recognized it as the one he'd given Albus for Christmas and grinned sheepishly. "Thanks for this."

"Don't mention it," Scorpius replied, his grin widening. He had actually chosen the Firewhiskey for a reason – when he had kissed Albus on the night of the Halloween Ball, he'd been drunk on that very drink. He'd thought it was an amusing idea at the time, although in the light of day it did seem a little tacky.

Albus didn't seem to care though. He uncapped the bottle and raised it to his lips, swigging a large mouthful and shuddering afterwards. Scorpius watched with wide eyes as Albus took one, two, three, _four_ more large mouthfuls before lowering the bottle and meeting his gaze. Albus coughed wetly and offered the bottle to Scorpius.

"Oh, no," Scorpius said hastily, shaking his head. "Thanks, but I don't think it's a good idea. I don't hold my liquor too well… remember?"

Albus's eyes darkened slightly and his lips trembled. "Yeah," he muttered, giving a small _hic_. The strong drink was already working its magic. "I remember."

He took yet another swig and then patted the space on the bed beside him. Scorpius hesitated and then took a seat, taking care to keep a little distance between himself and his best friend. If he was a different type of guy he might allow Albus to get intoxicated and then take advantage of him – but he _wasn't_ that type of guy, and Albus was his best friend.

They sat in a tense silence for a few minutes until Albus gave another hiccup and fixed Scorpius with an intense gaze.

"I have to break up with Genevieve," he said matter-of-factly.

Scorpius stared at him for a long moment and then snatched the bottle of Firewhiskey from Albus's hands, guzzling down as much of it as he could in one mouthful before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He winced at the burning sensation and then looked back at Albus.

"What happened?"

"She got me this _candle_," Albus said, wrinkling up his nose. "For Christmas, I mean. It's a perfectly nice candle, I guess. I mean it's a gesture and it's the thought that counts and all that crap. But the thing is, it's bright _pink_, Scor. And it's _heart-shaped_. And our names are engraved on it. And know what it says underneath?"

"What?" Scorpius said, biting his lip to contain his laughter.

"Forever," Albus said, his lip curling. "Like, we've been together for a couple of months and now all of a sudden we're supposed to be this, I dunno, super couple?"

"She's a girl, Al," Scorpius said with a shrug. "They do stuff like that."

"But that's not the problem," Albus hiccupped. "The problem has actually been there for a while and it was the candle that made me see it. _I don't like Genevieve_. Not in the way that a boyfriend should, anyway. Most of the time I want to cram a sock down her throat. She's loud and she's annoying and I don't like it when she kisses me. That's not how a boyfriend is meant to feel, right, Scorpius?"

"Right," he agreed.

"So I have to break up with her," Albus continued as if Scorpius hadn't spoken, "but I have to wait until _after_ Christmas, because she's staying with us. And I don't think I can live in the same house as my ex-girlfriend. That would be awkward."

Scorpius suppressed a chuckle as Albus reached for the Firewhiskey again and then decided that maybe he should do a little light probing of the situation. He gave a small cough before meeting his friend's slightly bleary eyes.

"Why don't you like Genevieve the way you should, Al?" he asked carefully. Albus's gaze suddenly turned sharp, despite the alcohol. He sat up a little straighter and set the bottle of Firewhiskey on the ground, his face turning thoughtful. After a few moments he pressed his lips into a tight line and nodded.

"I think I've been really stupid," he said. "I think I don't like her because she's a _her_."

"Yeah," Scorpius said softly. "You've finally figured that out, huh?"

"And I think," Albus continued, "that I like somebody else."

"You do?" Scorpius said.

"Yeah," Albus nodded. "But I think I might have screwed things up with him. See, he's this really great guy. My best friend, actually. And he told me was in love with me and I was a dick to him. I pretended I didn't have feelings for him and then I ignored him for weeks. But he's really one of the most important people in the world to me, you know? And I'd give back all of my Christmas presents if it meant he'd forgive me, because – _hic_ – the only thing I really want for Christmas is him."

Scorpius smiled at him. "Merlin, you talk some shit when you're drunk," he said, and then he leaned forward to capture Albus's lips with his. Kissing Albus again was fantastic. It felt like Scorpius was coming home. After weeks of kissing Rose in public, it was like heaven. It wasn't that Rose was a bad kisser – quite the opposite, in fact – but Albus was the only one who could make Scorpius's pulse quicken and his heart beat faster.

He wasn't sure how long they sat there, reacquainting themselves with each other, but too soon he heard footsteps outside and he had to pull away. Albus gave a small whimper as Scorpius stopped kissing him and it was all Scorpius could do to avoid attacking his lips all over again, but he couldn't – Albus had a façade to keep up, and for that matter, so did he. Albus may have finally realized how he felt, but that didn't mean the charade was over.

The door creaked open and Genevieve poked her head through the door. Scorpius was immediately grateful that he and Albus had heard her coming. If they hadn't, things could have been extremely awkward. He hoped that they didn't look too rumpled, but Genevieve didn't seem suspicious. She grinned at the two boys.

"We're having a game of Truth or Dare in your uncle Ron's old room, Albus," she said cheerfully. "Are you two coming?"

Albus, who loved a game of Truth or Dare, immediately scrambled to his feet and headed for the door, tugging Scorpius behind him. The blond boy followed a little reluctantly, though he had to admit that Albus's hand in his was a pleasant reward for going with Genevieve. Although he was definitely a little worried about participating in the game.

_Truth or Dare_, he thought wryly. _Yes, because we really need the truth to come out right now._

* * *

><p><em>Dun dun duuuuuun (that was meant to be dramatic music). I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Oblivious!Al is no more! But don't worry, there's still plenty of story left to go :) Seeing as it's almost Christmas and I'm a recovering invalid, I think you should all tell me what you thought of the chapter. Yupp. So leave a review if you can ;D<em>

**AUTHOR'S NOTE PART II: I really hope some of you are reading this. I recently found the 150 Things I Wont Do At Hogwarts list and I'm planning on doing a series of drabbles/oneshots based on it, using random pairings and random generations. For example, #1 could be a Trio drabble while #4 could be a Marauders era oneshot, get it? Anyway, if you're a fan of Turning Tables would you pretty please take a look at it when it's posted? I know I'm shamelessly self plugging here but I think it could be really good :) And I promise there'll be at least one Albus/Scorpius drabble! Anyway, you can go now. I won't steal your attention with shameless self promotion any longer! :)**_  
><em>


	14. Truth or Dare

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Merry late Christmas, everybody! I hope you all had a lovely holiday and I hope Santa was good to you ;) I haven't done this in a while so I want to thank everybody who's read, reviewed, favourited, story alerted etc. You guys are what makes me keep writing. Also, a huge thank you to **lunarocks14** for giving me one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten. You're my new favourite Internet person. And to those who may be wondering why Scorpius is so eager to spend Christmas away from his family - in my headcanon, Scorpius's relationship with his dad isn't all that great, and when he decided to stay with Rose, he was REALLY desperate to sort out his problems with Albus, so sacrificing the chance to see his family wasn't really all that big a deal at that point. Okay, that was a long author's note, so without further ado, here it is - chapter fourteen!

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: Truth or Dare<strong>

Scorpius stared around at the circle of teenagers in the room. The majority of them were Albus's cousins, although he recognized a few as friends of the Weasleys and Potters. Apparently Albus's grandmother had gone all out when she'd decided to have a party and told the kids they could invite friends, because there were several familiar faces stationed in the circle. Scorpius even spotted Portia Farley.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered to her. "I thought you hated Genevieve. Why are you hanging around with her on Christmas day?" She gave him a dark look.

"My father works with Rose's mother," she said. "She invited us and he insisted that I come along. Believe me, this is the last place I want to be." She glared at Genevieve an then Albus. Scorpius gave a slight nod and wondered what Portia would do to him if she knew what he and Albus had been getting up to downstairs.

It didn't bear thinking about.

"I found them!" Genevieve announced, gesturing to Scorpius and Albus with a flourish. The dark haired boy swayed a little and gave a slight hiccup. He was still very much under the influence of the Firewhiskey – Scorpius was beginning to regret his decision to give it to him in the first place. The others in the room gave a slight cheer and Genevieve tugged the boys over to sit in the circle. Scorpius tried not to smile as Albus shuffled closer to his side and looked around for Rose. She looked incredibly worried. Scorpius frowned and raised an eyebrow. She started to mouth something to him, but before he could figure out what she was saying, Genevieve spoke again. "Alright, Rose, tell them."

"Genevieve, I really don't think this is the best–" Rose began, but Genevieve made a _tsk_ noise and waved her hand.

"Stop being modest, Rosie," she said cheerfully. The redhead bit down hard on her lip and Genevieve rolled her eyes and gave a sigh. "Fine, _I'll_ tell them. You all know that Rose and I are two of the smartest witches in our year." There was a murmur of agreement throughout the group, along with a few despairing looks at Genevieve's lack of modesty. "Well, we've been working on a spell for the past few months and I think now is the _perfect_ time to try it out."

"A spell?" Roxanne Weasley said. She wrinkled up her nose and glanced at her cousin, her dark braids swinging. "I thought we were going to play Truth or Dare."

"Exactly!" Genevieve said before Rose could reply. "That's _exactly_ what the spell is designed for! Once it's cast, everyone in the room has to do exactly what they're dared to do, or tell the truth, if they choose truth."

There was a moment of silence.

"And it works?" Wyatt said skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"It should," Genevieve said with a grin. Rose shot Scorpius a miserable look and his jaw slackened.

_Oh, Merlin no,_ he thought. This was a disaster. If Rose and Genevieve's spell worked, then he and Albus were in big trouble. One small truth or one badly worded dare could bring their secret crashing down around them. He opened his mouth to say something to stop Genevieve from performing the spell, but he was too late – she had already drawn her wand and was muttering something beneath her breath. Scorpius glanced at Albus, wondering if he could escape with the dark haired boy, but one look around the group told him that he wouldn't. Leaving would raise too many questions.

They'd just have to hope that nothing went wrong.

"Alright, we need a bottle," Genevieve said, glancing around the room. Albus sat up a little straighter and produced the now empty Firewhiskey bottle from inside his jacket. There were a few joking comments about it and then it was placed in the middle of the circle. Genevieve was the first to spin it. It twirled lazily on the floorboards before coming to a stop in front of Blake Peabody, who raised his eyebrows.

"Dare," he said, before Genevieve could ask. She smiled wickedly.

"I dare you to swap clothes with Portia," she said. The Slytherin girl gave Blake a look of disdain. He looked horrified at the thought of trading his worn jeans and button down for Portia's slinky black dress, but apparently Genevieve's spell was doing its job, because he was climbing to his feet and undoing the buttons of his shirt.

Wolf whistles and chuckles ran through the group. A short while later, Blake and Portia took their seats again, Portia looking haughty and casual in Blake's ensemble. Blake's face was as red as a Quaffle. He tugged uncomfortably at the hem of Portia's dress. Ordinarily, Scorpius would have laughed – especially since the dress fit the Gryffindor boy surprisingly well – but now that he knew Genevieve's spell worked, he was worried about what would happen if the bottle were to land on him or Albus. Thankfully, when Blake reached forward and spun the bottle, it came to a stop on Lily Potter.

"Truth," she said immediately. Blake thought for a moment.

"Out of all the guys in the room, which do you think is the most attractive?" he said with a grin. Lily's eyes widened and she clamped her lips together tightly, but the spell was too powerful – she couldn't hold it in.

"Lysander," she exclaimed, before clapping her hands over her mouth. On the other side of the circle, the blond haired boy was blushing. Lily glared at Blake and then leaned forward to spin the bottle. It spun rapidly before landing on Scorpius. His stomach churned. Lily looked at him with soft brown eyes and he felt reassured – she knew about his complicated relationship with Albus. She wouldn't do anything to get them in trouble. "Alright Scorpius, truth or dare?"

He thought for a moment. "Dare," he said finally. Lily grinned.

"I dare you to use each letter of Rose's name to describe her," she said. Scorpius sighed inwardly in relief. That wasn't too bad.

"Er, okay," he said, meeting Rose's eyes across the circle. "Reliable… Original… Smart… Encouraging." He felt his cheeks redden slightly. No-one in the group laughed or commented – it wasn't a particularly entertaining dare. Scorpius gave a small cough and leaned forward to set the bottle spinning again. This time it landed on Albus's brother, who cocked his head to the side with an amused grin.

"I'll take truth, Malfoy," he said cheekily. Scorpius grinned.

"If you were a girl – or gay –" he said, "which guy in the room would you pick to be your boyfriend, and why?"

James didn't seem fazed or embarrassed by the question, like another boy might have been. He seemed to mull it over for a second and then said, matter-of-factly, "Wyatt. He's not hideous to look at and he makes me laugh. And he has a nearly endless supply of 'forbidden objects'."

There was a slew of comments about Wyatt and James and Scorpius finally managed to relax. Maybe they could get away with saying things like that in this game. After all, no-one was accusing James and Wyatt of being an item. If they were careful, they could get through this.

He spent the next couple of hours laughing and joking with the others as the game continued. He learned some very interesting things about the people in the circle – like, for example, how Portia Farley had wet the bed until she was seven, and Lorcan Scamander had a crush on Professor Weasley, and his brother Lysander had a bigger crush on Lily. He also got to witness people carry out some very entertaining dares – like when Hugo Weasley had to moon the crowd, or when James had to give Genevieve a lap dance. It was turning out to be a fun night – at least, until Portia twirled the bottle and it landed on Albus, for the first time all that night.

Scorpius's body stiffened. Albus had sobered up a little over the course of the evening, although he was still slightly tipsy. He stared at the bottle for a moment and then looked up at Portia, his brow furrowed. Scorpius prayed that he wasn't still drunk enough to make bad choices. He tried not to panic, however. As long as Albus picked dare, they would be okay.

_Come on, Albus,_ he willed. _Pick dare, for the love of Merlin, pick dare._

"Truth," Albus said. Scorpius's heart sank.

"Alright then," Portia said, her eyes flashing. She glanced at Scorpius and his heart clenched. She _knew_. He didn't know how, but somehow, Portia knew, and she was about to out them to everybody. He started to speak but she spoke over him, raising her voice so that everyone could hear. "Tell us about the person you love the most."

Albus gave a sappy sort of grin. "The person I love the most," he said clearly, oblivious to Scorpius's distress, "is beautiful and kind and generous and really intelligent." Across the circle, Scorpius could see a grin tugging at Genevieve's lips. The Ravenclaw was practically glowing. He prayed that Albus would leave it there and say nothing else, but apparently, he couldn't stop. The dark haired boy frowned. His lips twitched and before he could stop himself, he was continuing. "He's the best person I've ever known and if it wasn't for Genevieve I'd probably be snogging him right now."

A dead silence settled over the room. Scorpius sat extremely still as every person in the room stared at Albus. Genevieve's grin had frozen in place and she was looking at Albus with a frighteningly blank expression. Albus stared right back at her, his eyes wide with fear. He looked like he couldn't quite believe what he had just said.

_I knew this was a bad idea,_ Scorpius fretted.

After what seemed like an age, Genevieve spoke.

"What are you talking about, Albus?" she said, taking care to keep her voice calm and controlled. "_Who_ are you talking about?"

He clamped his lips tightly together but apparently, Genevieve and Rose's Truth or Dare spell was stronger than they'd all thought.

"Scorpius," Albus bit out, looking horrified the moment it slipped out of his mouth. Scorpius stilled once more, his body breaking out in goose bumps as the group turned their attention to him instead. He could see Lily, James and Rose in the periphery of his vision, each of them looking sympathetic. Rose also looked incredibly guilty – he guessed that she had done most of the work on the spell and now she was regretting it. He swallowed hard as Genevieve turned her gaze on him, still frighteningly calm.

"Scorpius is going out with Rose," she said. "Aren't you, Scorpius?"

_Yes_, he thought. "No," he said. Genevieve looked over at her best friend, who was staring fixedly at the floor.

"Rosie?" Genevieve said.

"Alright, everybody, that's enough," James said suddenly, getting to his feet. "Let's leave these four alone for a while, shall we?" He herded the group out of the room, leaving Scorpius alone with Albus, Rose and Genevieve. Scorpius was grateful that they no longer had an audience, but now there was no way of getting out of telling Genevieve the truth. Then again, there would have been no way to avoid it, anyway – not with that stupid Truth or Dare spell.

Almost as if she had read his mind, Genevieve raised her wand and muttered something under her breath. Scorpius felt a breeze ruffle through his hair. Genevieve stashed away her wand before looking around at all of them, still amazingly, inexplicably calm.

"I've lifted the spell," she said. "You're all my friends and I care about you. I'm not forcing you to tell me anything, but the least you can do is tell me the truth."

Scorpius met Albus's eyes and understanding passed between them. Genevieve was right. They owed her that, no matter how painful it would be. Scorpius glanced at Rose and gave a short nod. It was probably best to let her begin – she was Genevieve's best friend, after all.

"Gen," she said softly, "we've been lying to you."

"Obviously," Genevieve snapped, finally showing some emotion. "What I want to know is _why_. And for how long?" Rose opened her mouth again but Genevieve cut her off. "And I don't want to hear it from you, Rose. I want to hear it from Albus."

She stared stubbornly at her boyfriend – _was he still her boyfriend?_ Scorpius wondered – until he gave a low, miserable sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"A couple of months," he said. Genevieve closed her eyes and he hurried to explain. "Since… since Halloween, I guess. You probably don't want to hear–"

"Yes," she interrupted, her eyes flitting open. "I do. I want to hear everything. I want to know _why you lied to me_." The pain in her voice was unmistakable. Albus swallowed.

"I asked you to go to the Halloween Ball with me because I was scared," he said in a rush. She waited for him to continue, her steady gaze making sure that he knew not to leave anything out. "I was starting to have these… oh Merlin, I was having these feelings, only I didn't _know _I was having them yet. I was ignoring them because I wanted them to go away. I thought going to the ball with a girl would make them go away and when Scorpius asked Rose to go with _him_, that just made me want to ask someone even more. Panic, I guess."

"So you asked me," Genevieve prompted, her gaze darting in Scorpius's direction.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, avoiding her eyes. "I mean, I liked you. I _do_ like you. Except I convinced myself that I liked you more than I did, because I wanted all of those feelings I was having to go away. When we were at the ball, I was having a good time, mostly, but when you tried to act like a couple–"

"You ran away," Genevieve remembered. "You said you were going to go talk to Scorpius and then you just disappeared. I was on my own for hours."

"I'm sorry," Albus cringed. "I panicked. I was hiding in a closet and then Scorpius came and found me."

Scorpius remembered that – the night of their first intoxicating kiss, the kiss that had convinced him that Albus was gay and set this whole thing in motion. He swallowed hard as Albus continued, feeling terribly awkward as he told the girls about the encounter.

"He was drunk," Albus said, unable to stop his lips from quirking up slightly, "in the most _ridiculous_ way. He asked me about you and I told him that – er, well, I told him that you weren't my type. He took that to mean that girls weren't my type and then one thing led to another and we started kissing and then… Scorpius told me he was in love with me."

There was a harsh intake of breath from Genevieve's direction. Albus started to continue, but she cut him off.

"Scorpius," she said, fixing him with her dark blue gaze. "What happened next?"

Scorpius glanced helplessly at Albus, and then at Rose. He didn't want to recount this story for Genevieve. For all intents and purposes, he was the Other Woman. But there was no way out of it. She was staring at him resolutely, determined to hear everything.

"So…" he said, looking down at the ground. "I, uh, I told Albus that I loved him. He didn't exactly respond the way I wanted him to and I got kind of mad. At the time I thought he was just being a dickhead – er, sorry about the language – but now I think he was probably just scared."

"I was," Albus supplied. Genevieve glared at him and then looked back at Scorpius, imploring him to continue. He did so, coughing nervously.

"I was still hoping that he was going to apologize and tell me that he loved me too, but the next day I found out that you two were going out. I was going kind of crazy. I knew that Albus was gay – don't ask me how I knew, because I don't understand it. I just did. Still, I was trying to accept that you two were together… and then Albus's brother told me in Hogsmeade that he _did_ have feelings for me and he was just scared, pretty much confirming what I thought."

"He did?" Albus said, blinking.

"Be quiet," Genevieve said. Somehow she still looked remarkably calm, despite the fact that she was listening to the tale of how her boyfriend fell in love with his _male_ best friend. "Scorpius. What happened after that?"

"James told me that I should make Albus jealous," Scorpius said, studiously avoiding Albus's gaze. "I thought it was a stupid idea that would only get people hurt, but I was desperate. I even thought about using Rose to do it but I didn't want to hurt her that way, so I told her the truth. And she was pretty accepting, even though I knew she had a crush on me." He and Rose shared a smile. Genevieve cleared her throat, bringing them back to reality.

"Alright," she said quietly, and Scorpius wondered if they were finished recounting the tale. No such luck, however – Genevieve turned to Rose this time. The redhead paled under her friend's gaze. "Rosie. Go on."

"Um," Rose squeaked, her cheeks flushing. "Yeah. Okay. Well, Scorpius told me that he was gay and that he loved Albus. I offered to help. That's… that's it, really. Only you have to know that we never meant to hurt you, Gen. We love you. All of us."

Genevieve was quiet for a long time. Eventually, she looked around at her friends, tears of anger gathering in her eyes.

"You never meant to hurt me," she echoed, her voice shaking. She turned to Albus. "And yet you _lied_ to me. You _cheated_ on me. You _led me on_. And you're telling me that you didn't mean to hurt me."

"It's not his fault, Genevieve," Scorpius said as gently as he could. Genevieve's eyes locked on his. "He didn't realize what he was doing. He was just–"

"Scared?" Genevieve finished for him. "Being scared is no excuse for messing with someone's head like that!" She whirled on Albus. "Were you laughing at me this whole time? Telling jokes about me while you got off with your _boyfriend_?"

"No," Albus replied, looking scandalized. "It's not like that, Genevieve–"

"Did you think about him when we were together?" she went on, her voice rising hysterically. "All of those times when I was kissing you and touching you, were you pretending that it was _him_?"

"Genevieve, calm down," Scorpius said, acutely aware that the guests downstairs could probably hear them. Telling Genevieve to calm down was a mistake. The Ravenclaw whirled on him, her blue eyes flashing angrily, her mouth pulled down in an ugly sneer. He flinched.

"Don't you _dare_ tell me to calm down," she raged. "Do you know what you are, Scorpius Malfoy? You're a no good, dirty, lying, boyfriend stealing little _slut_."

"Hey!" Rose said. "Don't talk to him like that!"

"Leave it, Rose," Scorpius said quietly, although Genevieve's words had stung. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, leave it, Rose," Genevieve sneered. "He doesn't need you to fight his battles anymore, he's got what he wanted. Doesn't matter to him who he hurt though, does it? Doesn't matter that he ruined my life and _stole_ the boy I'm in love with."

Scorpius resisted the urge to swear at her. "Genevieve," he said as calmly as he could manage. "I'm truly sorry for how you found out about this – no, really, I am. I didn't want you to find out like this and neither did Albus. I never wanted anybody to get hurt. But the fact of the matter is that Albus is _gay_. No matter what I did, he would have realized it eventually – maybe when you were older and you'd been together longer, and you know what? Then it would have hurt even more. All I did was help him realize who he was sooner rather than later. And I'm not going to apologize for that."

Genevieve deflated slightly, her anger vanishing, replaced by a dreadful, hollow sadness. It was like watching the air go out of a balloon. Scorpius's heart clenched as Genevieve's face crumpled, but he kept up his determined appearance. Genevieve approached Albus, staring into his green eyes with her own tear filled blue ones. She scrambled for his hands and clasped them tightly, pressing them to her heart.

"Albus," she said, her voice choked with tears. He looked terrified. "Please. I'm sorry for what I said. I – I know I'm not the best girlfriend but I can be better. I promise I'll be better. Just please don't go with him. Stay with me. Please."

Albus's face was agonized, but resolute. "I'm sorry, Genevieve," he said quietly, gently disengaging himself from her grasp. "But it's just not going to work. I'm gay. I'm in love with Scorpius. I'm just… Merlin, I'm sorry, Genevieve."

She gave a strangled sob and fled the room. Rose followed her, shooting a look back at the two boys. The door swung shut with a soft click. Albus met Scorpius's eyes, looking exhausted.

"Well, that went well," he said dryly.

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><p><em>So now Genevieve - and pretty much everyone at Hogwarts *cough* - knows the truth about Albus and Scorpius. I think this story may be coming to its end. I was originally planning to write through to the end of the school year, but I'm just not sure if the plot will stretch that far. We'll see how it goes, anyway.<em>

_In other news, I got a replica of Ginny Weasley's wand for Christmas and I'm finally able to walk properly for the first time since my surgery. Awesome Christmas presents, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and pretty please with Butterbeer on top **leave a ****review** if you can :)_

_Once again, Merry late Christmas!_


	15. Fall Out

**Disclaimer: **all characters, places etc., are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** yeah, I suck. I have no excuse for not getting this up sooner and it's quite short. But anyway, enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: Fall-Out<strong>

When the new school term began, Rose had to resign herself to the fact that Genevieve definitely wasn't speaking to her. They hadn't left things on good terms at the Burrow – Rose remembered that night all too vividly. The truth spell. The confrontation with Albus and Scorpius. The way Genevieve had reacted.

"_Genevieve, wait – Genevieve!"_

_Rose ignored the whispers of the other kids as she elbowed her way through the crowd, eyes locked on Genevieve's dark curls. She was running and Rose couldn't keep up, not when Genevieve's Quidditch training gave her the upper hand. Rose tried to pick up the pace and found her path blocked by her mother._

"_Rose, darling, don't you think–"_

"_Not now, Mum," Rose said desperately, dodging around her mother and scanning the room for Genevieve. She spotted the other girl ducking into the kitchen and raced to catch up, ignoring the indignant mutters of the people she pushed past._

_Finally, Rose reached the kitchen door. She pushed it open gingerly and found Genevieve sitting at the table, her head bent and her shoulders shaking. Rose's grandmother was standing by the stove, looking half-worried and half-annoyed that someone had interrupted her cooking._

"_Can we have a minute, Gran?" Rose said softly. Genevieve looked up and glared. Rose was afraid that she'd try to run again, but she stayed where she was, just glaring balefully._

"_Don't be long, girls," Molly said, eyeing the fridge. "I've got snacks to give out."_

_She bustled out of the kitchen, leaving the two Ravenclaws alone together. Rose approached the table hesitantly and Genevieve turned so that her back was to the other girl. Rose heaved a sigh and sat beside her anyway, reaching out to lay a hand on Genevieve's back._

"_Don't touch me," Genevieve growled, flinching away._

"_I'm sorry, Gen," Rose said earnestly. "I know it was an awful thing to do. We shouldn't have lied to you."_

"_You shouldn't have lied to me," Genevieve said, whirling around and fixing Rose with an angry stare. "You're supposed to be my friend, Rose. Friends don't lie to each other, and they certainly don't concoct insane, hurtful plans to steal their other friend's boyfriend!"_

_Rose blinked. "We weren't trying to hurt you," she said softly. Genevieve gave a scornful laugh._

"_You weren't trying to hurt me," she repeated. "And you thought that helping Albus cheat on me wasn't going to hurt me. Right, I'm sure."_

"_He wasn't cheating on you," Rose said. "No matter what you think of us for doing this to you, you need to know that he didn't cheat on you."_

"_Not for lack of trying," Genevieve bit out. "I can understand Scorpius doing this to me. It's not like we've ever been good friends. And maybe I can excuse Albus because he's a boy and boys are immature and hurtful without even realising it. What I don't understand is why you agreed to help. Why didn't you just tell me that Albus was gay?"_

"_He didn't even know it himself," Rose said pleadingly. "All I had to go on was what Scorpius and James told me. I couldn't tell you when I didn't know for certain."_

_Genevieve's eyes flashed. "So you decided to manipulate me instead."_

"_I'm not proud of it," Rose replied, lowering her eyes. "I wish I'd never done it. But I didn't think – I just figured that if it wasn't true, then things could stay the way they were. If Albus _wasn't_ gay, you could stay together and no-one would be any wiser."_

"_And you didn't even think how it would affect me if it turned out Scorpius was right."_

"_No," Rose said. "And I'm sorry. Believe me, Genevieve, you have no idea how much I regret this. But I did it for them. And I know you can't see it now, but I did it for you, too."_

"_Bullshit," Genevieve snarled. "You don't have to keep lying. Sure, you may have thought that you were helping, but that's not the only reason you went through with it. I know how much you liked Scorpius – probably still do, even though he's in love with your cousin. It doesn't take much imagination to assume that you agreed to help him because you could pretend to be his girlfriend that way."_

_Rose gaped at her. "What? I–"_

"_Save it," the other girl said. "I've got you pegged, Rose Weasley. Underneath your shy little good-girl image, you're a selfish, scheming, manipulator. And I'm done with you."_

She had left the Burrow almost immediately afterwards, complaining to Albus's parents that she had a stomach ache. She had met up with her parents in Bulgaria and no-one had heard a word from her for the rest of the holidays.

Now that school had started again, she was coolly ignoring Scorpius, Albus and Rose, no matter what they tried to do. Rose had already attempted to talk to her in the common room, their dormitory, the Great Hall – each time, she found herself blanked. Scorpius was keeping his distance, half-afraid that Genevieve would try to beat him up if they crossed paths. Albus was making every effort he could to talk to her, determined to straighten things out, no matter what it took.

But it was much harder than they expected.

"How long do you think she can keep this up?" Albus asked Scorpius at dinner one evening, watching the Ravenclaw table across the room. "We're in the same year and we take lots of classes together. She can't ignore me forever."

"Don't take this personally, Al," Scorpius said, "but you're not the one I'm worried about." He inclined his head in Rose's direction. She was sitting a good distance away from the other fifth year Ravenclaw girls, head bent over a plate of spaghetti, face obscured by a tangle of red hair. Meanwhile, Genevieve was surrounded by friends.

"They're ignoring her too?" Albus said, dismayed.

"I overheard Alicia Bagnold talking about her in Charms," Scorpius replied. "They think what she did was despicable. No-one will talk to her."

Albus frowned and got to his feet, heading for the Ravenclaw table before Scorpius could stop him. Rose looked up as he approached and then darted a worried glance in Genevieve's direction. The other girl had stopped eating when she noticed Albus and was staring at him with a frightening calm.

"What are you doing?" Rose whispered.

"I'm not letting you sit here alone," Albus said fiercely. "So I'm going to sit with you. Or you can come to the Slytherin table. Your choice." Rose darted another look at Genevieve and then got to her feet, hooking her arm through Albus's and steering him back to the Slytherin table.

As they left, they heard Genevieve call after them. "Oh look," she shouted spitefully. "The Dream Team are back together. The two gay guys and their fag-hag. I guess there's no other reason a guy would want Rose around!"

Rose blushed scarlet and stopped in her tracks.

"Don't listen to her, Rosie," Albus said. "Come here, sit with me and Scorpius."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Rose whispered.

"I don't care," Albus said. "_Sit_."

She sat.

"Hi, Rosie," Scorpius said. "Don't listen to Genevieve. She's just angry. All she needs is a little time to get used to everything."

"Easy for you to say," Rose said darkly. "She's not hurling insults at you from across the Great Hall, is she?"

"No," Scorpius admitted. "But I did find a Dungbomb in my trunk, so I wouldn't say I'm completely out of the doghouse."

"The worst part is, I can't even blame her," Rose said gloomily. "What we did… it was unforgivable. I wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to us again."

"Well, I would," Albus said stubbornly. Scorpius and Rose looked at him questioningly. "Oh, I know we did a horrible thing, aright? I'm not completely lacking in morals. But there are worse things to do to someone! It's not like I was in on the plan." He furrowed his brow. "Wait. _I wasn't in on the plan._ Why is she mad at me?"

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because she's in love with you, you blithering fool," she said. "Though who knows why."

"So I'm being punished because she can't get over me?" Albus said indignantly. "That's hardly fair!"

"This isn't about you, Albus," Scorpius said sharply, prompting Albus to pout at him. "Rose is right. We were awful to Genevieve and she's perfectly entitled to be as mean as she wants to us."

"I just hope she forgives us," Rose said, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table. "Sooner rather than later."

Weeks later, however, Genevieve was still studiously ignoring Rose and Scorpius. Albus had managed to get a few stilted conversations out of her, but never more than a few words. To make matters worse, word had spread, and now all of Hogwarts knew what had transpired between the four of them. That meant that Albus and Scorpius's relationship was now the talk of Hogwarts, and while no-one seemed to care that they were together, they cared all too much about the gory details that had led to them becoming a couple.

Several different versions had circulated the school by the time Easter approached – Albus and Scorpius had actually been dating for years in secret, Scorpius's parents hadn't approved and that was why he had pretended to be with Rose, Albus and Scorpius's relationship was actually a front for Albus's incestuous love for Rose. By far, Albus's favourite was the one where he had murdered Scorpius's father so that they could be together.

"This is ridiculous," Scorpius declared one morning, after Portia Farley had enquired where Albus had buried the body. "I want to know who's starting these rumours."

"Isn't it obvious?" Albus said.

On the other side of the room, Genevieve was surrounded by giggling friends. As usual, Rose was sitting away from the group, her head buried in a book. Albus and Scorpius had invited her to sit with them, but she had refused on the grounds that she wasn't going to be ostracised from her own House.

"Would she really be that petty?" Scorpius wondered.

"Put yourself in her shoes," Albus replied. "If I were her, I'd definitely be petty."

"Well, it has to stop," Scorpius frowned. "Sooner or later someone's going to say the wrong thing to one of their parents and then things will get out of control. Do you really want someone asking your dad where you buried mine?"

"I'll talk to her," Albus said. "She's still pretty tight-lipped around me, but at least she's not throwing Dungbombs at me."

Scorpius looked outraged. "That was her?"

After breakfast, while Scorpius filed off to Charms, Albus made a beeline for the Ravenclaw table. He zipped past Rose and elbowed his way through Genevieve's friends until he was face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend. She regarded him coolly.

"Looking for Rose?" she said snidely. "She's–"

"I'm not looking for Rose," Albus interrupted. "I was looking for you, actually."

Although she tried to hide it, Albus saw the spark of interest in her eyes.

"What do you want, then?"

"Not here," Albus said, acutely aware of the angry glares her friends were sending in his direction. "I was hoping we could talk in private. Walk with me, maybe?"

Genevieve bit her lip and then nodded slowly. "Alright."

They walked out of the Great Hall together. Albus could feel Rose staring after him and sent her a silent apology. Once they were out of earshot of the crowds of students, Albus spoke.

"So…" he said, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"So," Genevieve repeated. When he didn't reply, she sighed. "Look, Albus, you were the one who wanted to talk to me, so–"

"You need to stop what you're doing," he said, cutting her off. She stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. He hurried to continue before she could speak. "Ignoring Rose, bullying Scorpius, making up crazy stories."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Genevieve said stiffly.

"Please," Albus said. "Who else would spread rumours about me being in love with my cousin? No-one else hates me as much as you do, Gen."

Her face softened. "I don't hate you," she said. "I wish I could hate you."

"If you don't hate me, then why are you doing all of this stuff?" Albus asked. "Is it to hurt Rose and Scorpius? Because hurting them hurts me too, Genevieve."

"They hurt me," she snapped, folding her arms. "I think they're getting exactly what they deserve."

Albus held up his hands. "I can't tell you what to do," he said. "But I really hope you'll listen to me. Whatever you think about us after what Rose and Scorpius did, you should know that we all still care about you. A lot. But if you keep doing what you're doing, I don't know how much longer that'll last. And if you decide you want to kiss and make up, we might not be there."

He started to walk away, but had barely taken three steps when Genevieve called out.

"Albus," she said. "Wait."

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><p><em>Short chapter, but at least it's an update, right? :) Please review!<em>


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